Like Cats and Dogs
by disnickyX
Summary: Tori and Jade don't get along. They're always fighting, even over the smallest of things. But then Tori's ex shows up at Hollywood Arts; and he's dating a girl named Melissa there. Tori tells him that she's dating someone new too. He invites her on a double date and now she's got a problem. She needs a date. Rating may change if I can get the courage to write one of those scenes
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: **OMG, I can't believe I'm writing this! I've never shipped two girls before but the "Victorious" girls are all just very, _very_, awesome together. Especially Jade and Tori; they have soooo much tension and chemistry it's ridiculous! I love the pairing so much that after reading other authors' wonderful fics, I've decided to try my hand at it. It just looks like so much fun! Needless to say, this is my first, but I'm not gonna ask you to take it easy on me. I wanna make sure I get it right, so if you see something wrong, tell me. If what you say makes sense to me, I'll change it. Thank you _so_ much for checking out my story. I hope you enjoy it!

Another thing; **SKRowling** had to help me with my Spanish. Her one fic, "On the Flip Side," has Tori using a lot of Spanish and I thought it was so realistic considering she's supposed to be half Latina; so thank you **SKRowling**!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Victorious; but I really, really, wish I could say otherwise. I'd be making _bank_! Also, a lot of dialogue in this chapter comes from the pilot episode.

{~~~~~TORI~~~~~~}

It's my first day here at Hollywood Arts and I've already messed up. I spilled coffee all over this really hot guy; and me, being the idiota that I am, attempted to wipe it away by rubbing it into his chest.

Yeah, that only made it worse. And as if that wasn't bad enough, his girlfriend walked in and pretty much screamed at me for touching her boyfriend. Can't say that I blame her. Like I said, he's _really_ hot and I _was_ rubbing on his chest.

Now, my new teacher's here, Mr. Sikowitz, and I'm soooo embarrassed. I sink into my seat at the sight of him, hoping he'll forget what happened this morning.

He doesn't.

After introducing me as the new student to all my peers, he thanks me for giving him two dollars this morning.

André, the only person I know here at this school besides my sister, elbows me in the ribs. "Why'd you give him two dollars?" he whispers loud enough for the _whole _class to hear.

"I thought he was homeless!" I hiss back, sinking even lower into my chair.

This would've never happened to me at Sherwood High, my old school. None of my old teachers would've dressed in loose khakis, layers of tacky worn out tops, _or_ come to school barefoot; oh _and _none of them would _dare_ sport a bald patch in the middle of an abundant array of unkempt hair as an acceptable hairstyle. It's not my fault I thought he was homeless. The man _looks _homeless!

"Now today, we're going to continue our study in group improv. Tori!"

I jump in my seat.

"I assume you're familiar with improv." Mr. Sikowitz points at me.

I sit up, eager to prove that I'm not just the idiota who mistook my teacher for a homeless man. Only…I have no idea what the chiz improv is. "Uh, well, yes and no." I answer.

That was good. I said I know some but not a lot; meaning I'm not _completely_ lost.

"What does that mean?" he counters.

Jammit!

"No." I admit.

"Okay! Crash course," he begins as turns away from us and walks toward the white board. Then he points at the word "IMPROV" on it. "Improv! Acting without a script. Which means the actors must make up their own actions and dialogue as they perform the scene, understood?"

No. I kinda don't understand, but just as I'm about to tell him so, he moves on.

"Good! Jade! You will captain the first group of the day. Choose your actors!" He claps and walks back toward the board.

I watch as he stares at it. He seems to be a bit lost in thought as he rubs his hands together. He's such an odd man. The way he moves his arms about as he's speaking is just so dang wild and exaggeratedly expressive.

Then I hear my name.

I look up at the front of the room at the girl who called me, Jade I think Mr. Sikowitz called her. She's calling me up so that I can be a part of her group, but I don't wanna go. It's my first day, I don't know what I'm doing; and to top it all off, she's the hot guy's girlfriend. I doubt she wants me to go up there for any other reason than to pay me back for touching her boyfriend. It's in her eyes. The way those baby blues are glaring at me, I just know I'm in deep chiz.

André nudges me in the rib. Okay, that's _really_ starting to hurt. "Go on," he encourages.

But I don't wanna go. I just wanna watch. I'm about to ask if I _can_ just watch when André nudges me again.

Hay! That one really, _really, _hurt. I scowl at him.

He has no sympathy for me, just points to the front of the stage.

Ya! I'll do it!

I take a deep breath and walk up front slowly. I try not to make eye contact with the hot guy's girlfriend, with _Jade_, either, but I can't seem to help it.

She's still glaring at me.

I wince; and that's when the corners of her mouth lift up into the most evil smirk.

Sweet chiz, I'm gonna die.

"Okay, let's give 'em a place," Sikowitz says to the rest of the class, completely oblivious to the fact that I'm more than just suffering from a little stage fright. I'm scared out of my wits!

"Home!"

I look at my classmates and note that a boy named Robbie was the one to shout out this answer. I met him earlier. He and his puppet, Rex, were the ones who told me how to get to this classroom. (Weird I know; but this is a school for the artsy. There should be a ventriloquist or two here I guess.)

"And now we need a situation," Mr. Sikowitz continues after writing "home" on the board.

"Big news." This suggestion comes from André.

"André, nobody wants to see big nudes," Mr. Sikowitz explains.

I clap my hand over my face just as André repeats what he really said. Big _news_, not big nudes.

"Ah! Well that's different." The eccentric teacher doesn't seem abashed at all as he goes back to the board and writes down André's suggestion.

Jade takes a step toward me. I back up, just a little bit, and she smirks again. "Uh, why don't you go wait in the hallway," she suggests, pointing toward the door.

That's it? I can do that. I can do that really good actually. So, I go and do that.

"Okay, at home, big news…and action!" I hear my teacher say before I shut the door.

I don't have to wait in the hallway long before Jade comes to get me. She pulls me by my arm, back to the front of the classroom.

"I went to the animal shelter and got us…a _dog_." She smiles and looks at me expectantly.

Que demonios?

_Oh_. The "big news." The family got a dog; and_ I'm_ the dog. Of course…

"Uh, yep." I chuckle nervously. "I'm the new family dog."

_Dogs don't talk, Tori._

"Woof," I add on.

Jade rolls her eyes at me before taking a few steps away. "Sikowitz, will you please tell this _amateur_ that dogs can't talk."

_I know that!_

"And that they don't walk on two legs."

_Oh, that's low._

"Sikowitz!" She yells when she gets no response from our teacher. He's too busy drinking from a coconut (weird) and he tells us so before adding on, "but it's true Tori. If you're gonna play a dog, _be_ a dog."

I exhale slowly before getting down on all fours. I really don't like this Jade character. I say character because she looks every part of a villain. Dark hair with blue streaks, pierced eyebrow, pierced nose, tattoo on her arm, dark jeans, dark top, and…red boots? MALVADA! Just plain _evil_ I say!

"And action!" Sikowitz yells.

Jade's pretty good at this because she doesn't miss a beat. "I went to the animal shelter and got us a dog!" she repeats her line smoothly.

Immediately, Cat (I met her earlier too, such an interesting girl) and a boy named Eli begin to pat my back…like I'm a dog.

Guacala. Kill me with a rock.

"Can the dog sleep in our bed?"

I look up then. It's the guy, the hot guy. Jade's boyfriend. I nearly blush. Not because he's hot. Well, the perfect brown hair, dark eyes and dark skin are a dreamy combination on him, but really, it's what he said. He's got balls. Well, of course he's got balls. He's a guy; but he's got big cojones if he can ask his scary girlfriend if I could sleep in the same bed with him… in front of _everybody_.

Jade glares at her boyfriend. "No, honey, it can't!"

Ouch, she called me an "it."

Jade walks toward me. I hope she doesn't kick me. She looks the type to kick puppies. But I stay put. I'm just so dang brave.

She reaches toward me and grabs a few strands of my hair. "Uh oh, looks like this dog has bugs in her fur," she announces.

I growl a little bit in my throat. I do _not_ have bugs in my fur…hair!

The two "kids" behind me cry, "eww,"and "gross" before they jump back away from me, no longer wanting to pet my back. I appreciate that; but I'd appreciate it more if it wasn't because _Jade _claimed she found bugs in my hair.

"Aw, it's okay," Jade continues. I watch her walk away as she explains how she once read on the internet that coffee works great for getting rid of fur bugs. She keeps walking until she's in the "audience," plucks a cup of iced coffee out of some guy's hand, and then she's heading back toward the "stage"… towards me!

She's _really _gonna do it; pour coffee on me. I can tell. She's popped the lid off, she's standing next to me, and she's beginning to tip the cup.

Coffee? In _my _fur? No thank you!

I nearly get up and run, but nooo…dogs don't run on two legs.

Then out of nowhere, an idea comes to me. And this has got to be what improv is all about; thinking on your toes. I have to play a dog? Okay, I'll play a _dog_.

Before Jade can spill any of that coffee on me, I lunge forward and sink my teeth into her leg.

Yeah, gank. Dogs bite.

She gives a little shriek of surprise before falling right on her butt, the coffee spilling all over the front of her shirt.

Wepa!

The whole class is lol-ing, even Sikowitz.

She gets up quickly and shouts, "You stupid bitch!"

"Jade!" Sikowitz reprimands. The whole class is silent. She just said the B-word.

"What? She's a dog. Female dogs _are _bitches." Jade answers matter-of-factly.

"Good point. Action!" Sikowitz yells enthusiastically; and then Jade's coming at me as if she was never interrupted.

My eyes go wide. He's supposed to be my teacher! He's supposed to keep me safe, to _protect_ me, but he just…He's really just gonna let her…But she's gonna _kill_ me!

No sooner than I come to that conclusion, she grabs me by the collar of my shirt; just as if I had been a real dog with, well, a collar around my neck.

I'd admire how well she's stayed in character; you know, remembering that I'm supposed to be a dog and all, but Dios mío! There's like… freakin' _fire_ coming out of her nostrils; and at the sight I nearly wazz my pants. There's no way I'm gonna let her improvise her next action, considering she's just drawn her left hand back. She definitely intends to slap me, and I doubt she's gonna "pretend" to do it. So, I bite her again, this time on her arm, right where her star tattoo is.

"Shit!" She hisses and lets me go immediately.

The whole class starts laughing again. They think this bull poopy is funny. I'll admit it. If I were in the audience, I'd think it was funny too; but I'm not. I'm improvising a scene in which my co-star or whatever is gonna beat the crap out of me under the guise of "acting."

And I don't wanna get beat up. So, I run, on all fours, toward the hot guy. He's got balls. He'll stand up to the dragon and save me. I know it.

And I'm right.

"Whoa, babe, calm down," He says, holding up his left hand to stop his girlfriend from retaliating. His other hand is petting the top of my head. "She didn't mean it, did you girl?" Then he turns to face me and gets down on his knees. Next thing I know, both my cheeks are in his hands and he's nuzzling my face much like what a human would do to a _real_ dog.

What a good actor!

I can do this. I can be a good actress too.

_Okay, think Tori. You're a dog; and what do dogs do when their faces are being nuzzled?_

I smile when the idea comes to me; then, I wiggle my rear. Hey, if I was a dog, I'd have a tail, and I'd be wagging that thang, yes I would!

"Good girl." The hot guy chuckles; and before I can embarrass myself by blushing, I give a small "woof" and lick his cheek.

"That's it! I want that stupid mutt put to sleep!" Jade yells. Oops, I kinda forgot about her.

"But babe"-

"To sleep, Beck!" she interrupts whatever her boyfriend's protest was going to be.

Ah, so that's his name. Beck. It's kinda nice. Me gusta.

_Beck_ sighs dramatically. "Fine, I'll take her." And with that, he pulls me by my imaginary collar toward the door.

Yep, I died in my first improv assignment, but it was waayyy better than getting coffee poured in my fur.

{~~~O~~~}

**Author's note**: I hope you don't mind. I changed a few things. I know cast members of Victorious don't start using "Victorious slang" such as "wazz," "chiz," and all that other stuff until later episodes, but I wanted to make it a part of their vocabulary _now_. Also, I know Beck asked if the dog can sleep in their "room" not "bed," but I purposely changed that as well. If you see other "mistakes" like that, I probably did it on purpose too…Okay, maybe not really;)

And I'm also really sorry if you feel anyone is OOC. But if you think about it. They kinda gotta be a little bit, otherwise there'd be no fanfiction;) Yeah, that was a lame excuse…


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: **Thank you guys for all the reviews and pms. I was really nervous about this, but you guys made me feel better.

**Disclaimer: **Um, I'm not sure how many times I'm supposed to disclaim ownership of Victorious per story, but here it goes again. Also, this chapter contains dialogue and such from season 3's "Driving Tori Crazy." I hope that's alright with y'all;)

{~~~~~JADE~~~~~}

Today has got to be one of the worst days I've ever had since coming here to Hollywood Arts. Not only did Mr. Whiskers (Hey, I was seven when I named him) die this morning, but I'm in the girls' bathroom trying to wipe coffee out of my shirt because of the stupid new girl. She's lucky my top is black and the coffee stain won't show, otherwise I'd take a pair of scissors to her earlobe.

Actually, I might still do it. I'll have plenty of time to later. _She_ doesn't know it yet, but I'm gonna make her come to my place after school today. I'd rather not. I don't want her to know where I live. And I _really _don't want to see her after school hours, but there's something of hers that I need.

Her clothes.

I wish I was going to do something drastic with them; like cut 'em up and make her walk home in her underwear, but I'm not. I'm going to wear them tomorrow, after running them through my washer half a dozen times of course.

It's that buffoon Sikowitz's fault. He's made her my partner in our newest method acting exercise; an exercise in which we have to switch identities with one of our classmates for a day.

That's right. All day tomorrow, I have to be "Tori Vega" and she has to be Jade West. God, I'd rather be Cat. All I'd have to do is say stupid, airy, things and run around like a five year old all day. Don't get me wrong, Cat's my closest friend here, but under normal circumstances I'd rather slam my tongue in a car door than act like her.

Today however, I'd gladly do it. It would beat having to be Tori _Vega_. I mean, she's new. What else do I know about her besides the fact that she's awkward, clumsy, stupid, annoying, a gank, easily intimidated, -

"Hey, um Jade?"

I shift my eyes in the mirror and immediately make eye contact with _her, _the Vega girl.

"Vega," I grunt and continue to wipe at my shirt, refusing to let her even _think_ she's important enough to upset me.

"So, I'm sorry about the coffee on your shirt, but since we're partners I was thinking maybe we should start fresh, you know? Be friends? Maybe?" She smiles nervously while twisting her fingers about each other.

Inside, I'm rolling my eyes and thinking about how stupid this girl really is if she thinks that I'd easily forgive her for what she did. "Yeah, well, I don't like you; so, I'm not gonna be your friend." I manage to sound completely bored rather than irritated; which is what I was aiming for.

"Look, I'm really sorry. What do I gotta do to show you that?" She all but begs.

Pathetic.

I pretend to consider her offer, though I have no intention of accepting. "Come to my place after school." I command before turning from the mirror and walking toward her.

She's got her mouth hanging open, obviously shocked and scared out of her wits.

Good.

As I pass by her, she grabs my arm.

My eyes go wide. She just touched me. I don't let people touch me; not unless I like them, and there aren't very many people I like. "_Never_ touch me," I growl.

Her eyebrows nearly kiss her hairline. "I'm s-sorry, but I don't know where you live." She stammers. She's fidgeting with her hands again, but that smile is still there. God, what a weirdo. "And also, I don't have a car yet, so…"

I stare at her blankly as I work out what I want to do. As I do, she swallows like five times.

She's so fuckin' spineless.

"Fine, I'll give you a ride." I give in. "Meet me by my car after school."

"Uh, which car is yours?"

What was I thinking? Of course she doesn't know which car is mine.

"Meet me here then!" I snap a little impatiently because I'm starting to feel like idiocy might be contagious. She's already riddled with the disease and I don't wanna catch it, so I get away from her as fast as I can.

~~~O~~~

I'm still wazzed off, even more than I was before. I talked to Sikowitz...again. I was trying to get him to let me switch partners, to let me work with _anyone_ besides Vega. Hell, I'm even willing to be Robbie tomorrow and endure all of Rex's dirty comments about my hand being stuck up his back, but Sikowitz said no. He's a stubborn one he is. I hope he drinks a sour batch of coconut juice one day.

I march into the bathroom and spot Vega right away. God, she's so stupid. She could've waited _outside_ the bathroom.

"Let's go," I snap; then I walk out. I don't check to see if she's following me. I know she is. She's spineless Vega isn't she?

The trip to my car is made in silence. As if I'd have it any other way. I don't like Vega's voice. It's pitchy, whiney, annoying, slightly nasally-

"You should put your seatbelt on, Jade."

It's bad enough that I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't even realized I was in my car, but to be jarred out of thoughts on how annoying Vega's voice is, _by _Vega's annoying voice telling _me_ to put my seatbelt on…? Without even realizing it, I fix her with a glare so fiercely murderous she snaps her mouth shut and literally gulps like a Looney Toons character.

"Sorry, my dad's a cop, so…" she offers, before buckling her seatbelt and looking out her window.

I pull off without a word.

Her dad's a cop, huh. That's good. I could use that information. I need to learn everything there is to know about Vega. It's the only reason she's coming to my place. I have to get to know her if I'm going to be her all day tomorrow. I'm not here, at Hollywood Arts, by accident unlike _some _people. I take my craft seriously. If I'm going to play Vega, I'm going to _be_ Vega. I don't half-ass any of my assignments; and I'm professional enough to keep my dislike for the girl on the back burner while I perform.

"Uh, Jade?"

I raise my eyebrows rather than give Vega a verbal response.

"You… you have a shovel in your backseat." She comments. She's trying to be nonchalant, but failing miserably. She's possibly the worst actress I've ever come across.

"Uh-huh." I answer. That's it. That's all I say because I'm not gonna tell her my cat died and I buried him on my way to school this morning. It's none of her damn business.

"Uh, Jade?"

I raise my eyebrows again, refusing to look away from the road. It's relatively deserted, like always, which means I don't necessarily have to concentrate so hard on it, but I'd rather not acknowledge Vega unless I absolutely have to.

"Uh, my phone's not getting any signal."

I don't answer her. Of course she's not getting any signal. We're in the desert, idiot. I don't exactly _like_ not getting phone reception for twenty minutes out of my day either, but this is the shortest route to my house. I don't exactly live close to the school.

"See, no signal," she persists, shoving her PearPhone in my face.

I look at her for the first time since she told me to put on my seatbelt, and what I see makes me smile. She's _scared. _

My god. I know we're in a desert, with no signal, and I've got a shovel in my back seat, but does she _really_ think I'm going to kill her?

On second thought…that's not such a bad idea.

"Yeah, we're about to drive through Shadow Creek Park. There's not much signal up here." I explain ominously before adding on, "there's not much of anything up here."

"Oh." She gulps loudly.

Man, she's easy. I turn back to the road and begin to hum, quietly at first then I get louder. "La la, la lala la" I sing as creepily as I can, over and over again, just to fuck with her.

Suddenly, she screams; which was actually pretty amusing until she opened her door and jumped out the car; out of my _moving _car.

What the…

I slam on my brakes and reverse until I'm aligned with her. Okay, I gotta admit, I'm impressed a little, but she's still stupid. She's staring at elbow, and I can see from the driver's seat that there's blood on it. Lots of it. Stupid girl. What did she think would happen if she jumped out of a moving vehicle?

"Hey, why'd you jump out of the car?" I ask, knowing the answer already and not feeling the tiniest bit of guilt. She jumped. I didn't push.

"Oh, no reason!" she shouts back before slowly standing on wobbly legs. Then she looks down, frowning at her dirty jeans before muttering, "Coño!"

I roll my eyes. "Well, hurry up and get back in!"

"No, that's okay. I'll walk it from here."

I narrow my eyes at her stupidity. "You don't know where I live."

"Guess I'll just go home then." She shrugs.

"Just get back in the car." I'm starting to get _really _irritated.

"No thank you." She waves politely before turning her back to me and walking away with a slight limp. She's hurt, obviously, but I don't care. She just… _dismissed_ me.

I get out of my car quickly. She's not going home until I get what I need from her. I'm _not_ going to fail this assignment just because poor little Vega's a fuckin' scaredy cat!

Once she hears my car door slam shut she screams and runs, _actually_ runs, away from me. I'm not a very fast runner, but luckily for me, she can't run so fast either because she's injured.

Words can't express just how pissed off I am at her for this. We're in the _desert_. I'm dressed in all _black_ and _boots_. It's fucking_ hot_. I don't _want_ to run. I've never sweated a day in my life and I'm sure as hell not about to start now!

I catch up to her easily and tackle her to the ground. It's not necessary, but I wanna hurt her, so I tackle her hard.

She grunts and starts squirming like a maniac, trying to shake me loose.

I'm screaming, "Stop being an idiot and get back in the car!"

She's screaming, "Lemme go!" "Get off!" and "My dad's a cop!"

I ignore her and continue to wrestle her.

An eternity later, I somehow manage to get on my feet. I grab one of her legs and begin to drag her back to my car. It's the most tiring experience I've ever had because she's struggling against me so hard. Then she kicks me, right in the shin. I nearly say the biggest, baddest, four letter word known to man, but I hold it in cause I know that I wouldn't have stopped there. I would've gone on a tangent, saying every swear word I know and mixing them up into the most creative combinations ever heard. I would've kicked and screamed and gone red in the face due to the amount of energy used for my tantrum; but then, my little prey would've gotten away.

Much like the way she's trying to get away now. She's on her belly, slithering away at lightning speed just like the snake that she is.

I pounce on her. She turns onto her back abruptly, dislodging me. I bounce back quickly and end up straddling her stomach, pinning her arms to her side with my legs. She's still struggling hard against me, but I have the upper hand. So, I half sit/ half lay there, my hands braced against the earth on either side of her head as she twists and bucks. I'm gonna be here until she gets it through her head that I'm not going anywhere, and that the harder she struggles the less she'll be able to breathe.

Her face is nearly purple by the time the idiot figures it out. She's not fighting as hard, just kinda breathing heavily and giving a little twist here and there. Either she's _that_ stupid or she's that determined to get away. If it's the latter, then I've got to admire the girl's survival instincts. I don't have to like her to admit that her will to survive is quite impressive.

Impressive. Ugh, I think I've used that word to describe Vega about three times now. She's not impressive. She's not! She's not! She's _Not_!

When she finally goes _absolutely _still, I speak. "You done there, Vega?"

She glares at me.

Eh, good enough.

I lean in a little closer, my nose merely a centimeter away from hers, and narrow my eyes. She tries to move away, but she's lying on her back, trapped beneath me. She can't _really _shrink away from me, no matter how hard she tries. The best she can do is squeeze her eyes shut. It's the reaction I want from her. The action I expect to receive. But she doesn't give it to me. She stares me straight in the eyes, defiantly.

That's fine too I guess. In fact, it might do her some good to look at me. To see the absolute murder in my eyes, because that's how I feel right now. Murderous. I really wanna put my hands around this girl's throat and squeeze until her eyes pop out of their sockets.

But I won't. Not yet.

"I _promise_ not to _kill_ you, _just_ get _back_ in the _car_," I say slowly, emphasizing almost every other word to let her know just how stupid I think she is.

Still she stares at me.

I work my jaw a little, my patience running on empty. "What? I said I promise."

Her arm twitches beneath me, and instinctively I clench my legs tighter around her, keeping her arm in place. "Girl…" I growl menacingly, my whole demeanor suggesting that if she moves an inch I'll break one of her limbs. I'm not in the mood to be pushed off, or to have to chase after her again.

"Pinky promise," she croaks.

I take a deep breath before looking up to the sky and rolling my eyes. Pinky promise? Even _Cat_ has outgrown pinky swearing.

Then I relent because I don't want to be here, on top of Vega, all day. I've just learned that she can be incredibly stubborn. If I don't pinky promise her, we'll probably be here till midnight.

"Fine, I pinky promise." I shift slightly, just enough to lift one of my legs high enough for her to free her arm. She holds her pinky up for me to take, and I do it quickly. Like I said, I don't want to be on top of Vega all day.

I get off her quickly, grab one of her arms, and yank her up roughly. She crashes into me and I wrap an arm around her waist before pulling her toward my car. Normally, I'm not one for hugging on people I don't know, or people I do know for that matter, but I hold on tightly to Vega. She's weak and needs my support. I mean, I _thoroughly _wore her out and I'm proud of it; but at the same time I don't trust her not to run off again if I let go of her.

When we get to my car, I shove her into the passenger seat and nearly walk around to my side, but I change my mind when a thought comes to mind. I pinky promised not to kill her. She didn't pinky promise to stay in the car. So, I buckle her in myself before crawling over her to get to the driver's seat.

She protests and grunts; pushing and slapping at my butt until I get on my side. I glare at her for hitting me, but I don't say anything as I lean over her to close her door. I can't really blame her for her reaction. If she put her butt in my face I'd do more than hit her.

I start my car up with one hand. With the other, I'm holding onto Vega's seatbelt and I don't plan on letting go any time soon. If she jumps out of my car again, I'll kill her. Pinky promise or no pinky promise.

I have to drive like this all the way to my house and I'm annoyed by it. Truly wazzed actually; but, there's a small part of me that's just a _little _bit less angry about having to be Vega tomorrow. She's not _just _awkward, clumsy, stupid, annoying, a gank, or easily intimidated; she's a fighter as well.

I can work with that.

{~~~O~~~}

**Author's note: **Maybe the fighting was a little over the top, but hopefully still entertaining. I wanna try and put at least one "fight scene" in every chapter because of the title. Should be fun right? Wish me luck!


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: **Thank you guys for the reviews! And a special thank you to **SKRowling **for helping me with my Spanish again. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.

{~~~~~TORI~~~~~}

Jade's house is nice. I'm only a _little_ ashamed that I imagined she lives in a castle with a draw bridge, a moat filled with great white sharks, and human heads on spikes littering the place.

Okay, so maybe I didn't actually think she lived in a castle with a moat and sharks, but I wasn't expecting her house to be normal either.

It's bigger than mine, but not in a way that seems uninviting I guess. I mean, the outside isn't painted black or grey, but a very rich, creamy, beige.

Not that I get a lot of time to admire her house, inside or out, because Jade is all but pulling me inside, through what I'm gonna assume is a dining room, and then upstairs into her bedroom.

I look down at my arm, the one Jade is holding onto. I thought she didn't like to touch people. I mean, she had a wazzfit when I grabbed her arm in the bathroom earlier today; so, why does she keep touching me?

I jerk my arm out of her grasp and cross my arms over my chest. If I can't touch her, she can't touch me. So there!

Okay, that sounded way more immature than I meant for it to, but the concept still stands.

Jade raises a studded eyebrow at me, like she can't believe I had the nerve to snatch my arm away from her. I stare back at her defiantly. Yeah, I had the nerve. It's my arm!

Then it appears; that evil, evil, smirk. It's there for half a second before her face settle's into this blank, 'I couldn't care less about anything' look.

I don't like that look. Only Sociopaths can master it. So I move out of her way when she starts to walk forward.

She pushes her bedroom door shut and I immediately feel stupid. She was shutting her door, not planning on doing anything to me.

She doesn't even spare me a glance as she moves over to her dresser. "I'm gonna take a shower," she announces.

I frown immediately. She's gonna take a shower? And leave me standing here in her bedroom? Doesn't she have the slightest bit of manners? I mean, who does that?

"Those are for you." She says, and I blink a few times before looking at where she's pointing. Sitting on her bed is a small heap of clothes…for me.

That's when I look at her. Really look at her. She's filthy. There's dirt on her face, on her arms, on her clothes, in her hair; just everywhere. Of course she wants to take a shower. We'd just been rolling around in the desert.

"Just stay right here and don't touch _anything_ until I get back." And with that, she leaves the room.

I know Jade doesn't like me. In fact, I'm pretty sure she hates me. I bit her, made her fall, and then licked her boyfriend. We just fought in the desert, and I kicked her in the shins so hard her face practically turned purple due to the effort it took to keep her screams inside, yet she pulled out a change of clothes for me and is going to let me shower after her. I would've expected her to make me stay dirty and uncomfortable until I got home. That's what an evil person would do. Maybe Jade's not as bad as I thought.

Then I take a better look at my surroundings and change my mind. Jade's room is…unique. Sure the wallpaper's relatively normal, and there's a few cut out posters of boy bands that I don't recognize; but there's this one shelf that has a bunch of jars on it. In the jars are…things; like things I can't even describe because I don't know _what _they are; things that look like they belong in a sci-fi movie about genetically mutated babies or something. Que escalofriante; just plain freaky. I move a little closer, raising my hand to touch, but then I change my mind. Jade _did _say not to touch anything.

So, I drop my hand and don't touch anything. I just stand there for_ever _waiting for Jade to come out the shower.

"Hey, Jade…whoa. Not Jade."

Jade's bedroom door is opened abruptly, and I'm staring at the cutest thing ever! There, in the doorway is a little girl of about eight or nine; and she_ is_ cute. Don't get me wrong, but she's not the cutest thing ever. The cutest thing ever is the bright yellow extensions in her hair.

This is Jade's sister. There's no doubt about it. The blue eyes, the chestnut brown hair, the fierce scowl, but those streaks, she wearing streaks in her hair the way Jade does. Jade's got a sister who admires her so much that she's copying her! Jade can't _possibly_ be as bad as I think she is with a sister who obviously idolizes her. I mean, I've got a big sister too, but I never wanted to copy anything Trina did.

"Who the fudge-monkey are you?" The mini Jade frowns at me.

Oh my gosh! Que linda! So, dang cute that I just wanna pinch her cheeks the way my abuela used to do to me before she died.

"I'm Tori. I'm a friend of Jade's from school." I answer with a bright smile.

The little girl's eyes narrow. "Jade said she doesn't have any friends at school, just a Cat." She says suspiciously.

"Well, I just started Hollywood Arts today. Jade didn't have time to tell you about me." I answer smoothly.

"Oh." The girl accepts before folding her arms over her chest and staring at me a little more.

I shift a little, waiting for her to say something else.

She doesn't. She just keeps with the staring and it's_ really_ starting to make me a little uncomfortable.

"So, what's your name?" I ask, just to strike up a bit of conversation.

"Amber." She answers immediately.

I smile. I expected her to give me a harder time with it because of the way she's staring at me. Hopefully this means she's starting to be a little less wary of me.

Then it hits me. Amber and Jade. That's so cute!

"Why are you all dirty?" Amber unintentionally breaks into my musings.

"Oh, me and Jade were… uh wrestling"-

"Why would you be wrestling if you're friends?" She asks, going back to being suspicious.

"Well, I'm Jade's _special_ friend. We like to wrestle each other. It's…uh fun."

"But Beck is Jade's _special_ friend."

Face palm moment.

"Well, I'm a different kind of special friend, so there!" I poke my tongue at the little sabelotodo. Really, a kid that age shouldn't be so dang snarky.

She sticks her tongue back out at me.

"Get outta my room, Riley!"

At the sound of Jade's voice, both me and Amber jump…wait _Riley_?

Amber, or Riley, rolls her eyes at Jade. "Is she your special friend?" She asks, completely unaffected by her older sister's less than friendly tone.

"What?" Jade scowls.

"She said she's your special friend and you guys like to wrestle and that's why she's dirty."

Jade rolls her eyes and plops down on her bed. "Mind your own damn business."

"Mind your own damn business." Amber/Riley mocks.

"Don't you dare start that shit."

"Don't you dare start that shit"

"Riley, I swear to God!"

"Riley, I swear to-ow!" the girl exclaims as a pillow crashes right into her face. "I'm telling Mom! You're gonna get it!"

"Not if you get it first you little brat!" Jade gets up suddenly and Riley takes off running. Only pausing long enough to give Jade the middle finger at the door before she disappears down the hall completely.

I stare after her. Why did she lie about her name like that, and without the slightest bit of hesitation? Is that something that's normal here? Learning how to be someone else? Do the kids start practicing this young so that they can get into Hollywood Arts?

"Vega, you can shower now."

"Is she gonna try to get into Hollywood Arts?" I ask. I don't know why. Maybe because that thought is what's on the surface of my mind right now. Riley's gonna be a good actress someday. She deserves to go to a school like Hollywood Arts. I, on the other hand, just kinda got in by accident. I don't really have much talent. Not like the other students.

Jade makes a face at me, and I can't really blame her. That question did just come out of the blue. "She said her name is Amber" I say, as if it adequately explains what's been going through my head.

"Well, it's not. Now, go take a shower. You stink."

I scowl back at her and snatch the clothes off her bed. "_You_ stink" I mutter under my breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." I call brightly before practically running out of her room. That's when I realize that I don't exactly _know_ where the bathroom is. Luckily for me, Riley comes out of a door not even ten feet away. I'm assuming it's her room.

She doesn't see me though; probably because she's too busy with her phone.

"Riley!" I call.

The girl looks up at me and frowns. "I'm Amber." She tells me.

I roll my eyes. Not this again. "Where's the bathroom?" I ask, deciding not to get riled up over the little girl's little game.

Hehe. _Riled_ up. Riley. Yeah, it's lame; but lame things tickle me.

Riley points to the door closest to the stairs.

"Thanks!" I call.

"Uh-huh." Is her answer.

She's so much like Jade. Not that I know much about Jade because I just met her today; but there are certain characteristics of hers that are nearly impossible not to pick up on quickly.

Once inside the bathroom, I don't even hesitate to strip. Usually I do when I'm in a foreign bathroom. I usually have to figure out how the shower works because not all knobs and shower heads are created equal. Not this time. I need to get out of these clothes ASAP. I'm filthy…and a little bloody. I hope the cut on my elbow doesn't get infected.

It doesn't take me long to figure out the shower. It's like mine. Cold water on the left, hot on the right. Pull the little dohickie in the middle to activate shower mode.

I'm in the shower for all of five minutes when I hear the door open.

I freeze. Crap! Why didn't I lock it?

"Hello?" I call tentatively.

"Relax, Vega. I'm putting your clothes in the wash." Jade drawls before shutting the door loudly.

Phew.

Wait; no phew. Jade probably just saw my underwear!

_Calmate, Tori. Just calm down. It's no big thing. Jade's a girl. She probably doesn't even care._

I pull the curtains back a bit and take a peek. My eyes widen at what I see, or rather what I _don't _see. Clothing. Jade took them, and not just my dirty clothes but the clothes she was supposedly going to let me borrow.

How could I have been so stupid! How could I have thought Jade was _truly_ being nice to me. She's evil. I _know _that! Yet I let my guard down anyway and now she's getting me back for humiliating her in class today.

What am I going to do?

I try to think of something as I wash my hair. I mean, I might as well finish my shower, right?

I don't come up with anything. I'm in a strange house, with strange people, and my clothes are gone along with my PearPhone, _and_ the only thing I can use to cover my body is a towel that's laying on the floor. It's probably Jade's. Therefore, I don't wanna touch it.

Riley.

The thought comes to me suddenly. Maybe I can get Riley to help me out. Maybe she can get me something of her mother's, and hopefully it'll fit.

It's not the best of plans; but it's the only one I got. So, I crack the bathroom door open and poke my head out, hoping Riley walks by soon.

She doesn't.

I wait, and I wait, and I wait. I wait for an hour, maybe two, possibly three. I wait so long that my hair has completely dried. Now, that's a long time. So long that I nearly give up and head for Jade's room wearing nothing but my birthday suit; but then I see her. Riley. She's coming up the stairs. I've never seen so happy to see someone in my life.

The name Riley nearly escapes my lips, but then I remember her game.

"Amber!" I hiss.

Riley stops in her tracks and stares at me for a few seconds. Then she smiles. "I'm Riley."

"Oh, so _now_ you're Riley?" I scoff. _Unbelievable_.

The little girl just smirks and gives a light shrug. "What do you want?"

Jeez. The whole family's evil.

"Can you do me a big favor, please?" I plead desperately.

For some odd reason, Riley's smirk turns into a full out grin.

Oh no.

"Okay, but if I do it, you have to do me an even _bigger _favor." She negotiates.

"How _much_ bigger?"

"_Way_ much bigger."

I narrow my eyes at her.

She shrugs and begins to walk away.

"Okay, okay. It's a deal." I agree. "What's the favor?"

She turns back to me, wicked smile in place. She obviously knew I would surrender. "I don't know yet." She answers, a thoughtful look on her face. "When I figure it out, I'll tell you, okay?"

She holds her hand out so we can shake on it, and I take her smaller hand in mine with a huge smile on my face. "Okay." I agree, knowing that I'll never see this little terremoto ever again.

"Cool chiz, gimme your number," she commands while pulling her phone out of her back pocket.

Jammit!

I give her my number, my real number, because this is what happens when I try to be evil. It just doesn't work for me. I'll just have to owe Riley a favor. Fair's fair.

"So, what do you want me to do?" she asks while pocketing her phone.

"Do you think you can go into your mom's room and get me something to wear? Your sister's washing mine." I answer half-truthfully, deciding not to be a tattle.

Riley shakes her head. "Mom locks her door when she's not here."

"What? Why?" I whine.

"Because she doesn't trust us."

And with good reason I bet.

"Fine." I sigh. "Do you think you can discreetly try Jade's door. See if it's locked. Oh, and discreetly means"-

"I know what it means!" she cuts me off with a sharp hiss before walking away.

I watch her try the door; then she turns around and gives me the thumbs up. Jade's door is unlocked.

I grab Jade's towel off the ground and wrap it around myself tightly. The idea of streaking my way across the hallway rather than wearing it is no longer appealing.

"What took you so long?" Jade comments as soon as I walk into her room. She's sitting on her bed, notebook in her lap and ear buds in her ears while she idly snips at the edge of her blue extensions with the most deadly looking pair of scissors I've ever seen.

"You took my clothes." I accuse.

"I took _my _clothes," she counters.

Valid point; but she's had her fun. I learned my lesson…whatever it was supposed to be. She can give me some clothes now.

"Can I have something to wear now?" I ask as nicely as I can.

She tilts her head to the side for a moment, considering me before she answers with a simple "No."

"No?"

"What? You want me to say it in Spanish? _No._"

I scowl at her.

She smirks at me.

I think I actually hate her, and I don't hate _anybody_.

"Okay, so let's get started. Gimme your schedule. " Jade says, abruptly getting all "professional" on me; but how can she be so serious when I don't have clothes. The joke's over, right?

"I can't work without clothes on."

"You'll get some when I get what I need from you."

She's withholding clothing from me as an insensitive for me to give her what she wants? Who does that? It's not like I told her I wouldn't participate and _then_ she took my clothes ransom. It's like she's already decided I'm going to be difficult and had to find a way to beat me to the punch.

Jade's got major trust issues.

Hmm. It's a note; something I've learned about her. Isn't that what I'm here for? To observe Jade so that I can pretend to be her tomorrow?

"Where's my bag?" I sigh.

She points to a corner of her room, smiling triumphantly. She thinks she's won, that I've decided to do what she says; but she's only partially right. I doubt that when it's my turn to interview her, she's going to give me honest answers, because I'm pretty sure she'd get a kick out of me failing this assignment. So, I'm not going to depend on my interview. I'm going to watch and observe. I'm gonna learn everything there is to know about Jade West without her having to say a single word.

I sit down on the bed next to her and pull out a notebook as well as my schedule before handing the latter to Jade. Wait, why does Jade need my schedule?

"Why do you need my schedule again?"

She hands me a piece of paper with her schedule written on it. "Because I have to take your classes tomorrow, and you have to take mine." She answers. Her tone is bored, not condescending. I would've expected the latter, so I'm relatively pleased she hadn't insinuated I was an idiot.

"Oh." That makes sense. If I'm going to be Jade, I shouldn't show up for _Tori's_ classes; but what about the teachers?

"Your teachers aren't going to be surprised to see me in your classes?"

Jade grunts, but doesn't look at me. She's too busy copying down my schedule. "It's a performance arts school. Stuff like this happens all the time." She finishes with a shrug.

"Oh." I answer again before taking a few notes. I write down the obvious things first. The "Jade smirk," the blue extensions, the obsession with scissors, the dark clothes; all things people notice about Jade right away.

"So, what's your morning routine? Wake up time, shower time, _if _you even shower, breakfast…?" She asks me.

I rattle off my answers to every question she asks truthfully and without getting the slightest bit offended when she insults me. Which is a lot. I just take note of it; of the fact that Jade insults people…a lot. Then I start on the little things about Jade; like the way she holds her pen and notebook, the way she sticks her tongue out to the side sometimes, the black fingernail polish, the way she-

"Jade, I'm hungry." Riley walks in the room without knocking and I notice right away that she looks a little different; a little less mischievous, softer even I guess. Probably because she's begging Jade to fix her something to eat rather than scowling suspiciously at me.

"Get Joy to feed you. I'm busy."

"But Mom's not here," Riley pouts.

That's weird. I look to Jade. "Why do you call your mom Joy?"

"I don't." Jade replies tersely.

And now I'm confused.

"Then go feed yourself, Amber. I'm _busy_."

Huh? Amber? What happened to Riley?

"But Mom said"-

Jade gets up quickly and rushes toward the little girl. I get up immediately, ready to help her if Jade becomes as violent as she looks right now, but it's not necessary. Amber/Riley doesn't so much as flinch at the sight of her sister coming toward her. She's not afraid.

Jade stops when she gets to her doorway and grabs a hold of her little sister's hand, "Riley!" she screams at the top of her lungs.

What the hell?

Almost immediately a faraway voice screams back. "Jade!"

"Come get Amber and make yourselves something to eat!"

"But Mom said we're not allowed to fix our own snacks anymore!"

"Do it anyway!"

"Okay!"

Ooooh. Riley and Amber are two different girls. Twins, I realize.

Still I gasp when the other little girl, Riley, comes to Jade's door a few seconds later. Why couldn't Jade just say Riley had a twin?! Why does she have to be so…ugh!

I sit back down on her bed, snatch my notebook up and jot down more notes. Jade's secretive, a liar by omission, mysterious…

I'm slightly aware that Jade has plopped down beside me, but I don't pay her any mind until she asks me if I'm still a virgin. I'm so caught off guard that I nearly tell her it's none of her business before remembering that she's not interested in my business. Not really. She's stuck with me as a partner and only needs to know so that she can pretend to be me tomorrow.

"No." I answer.

"Who, what, when, where, how many times…?" she trails off.

It's slightly upsetting, the way she's being so callous about this topic. But I guess that's not her fault. How could she possibly know how sore of a subject this is for me? And even if she did, she still wouldn't care. We're not friends.

So, I answer her questions as matter-of-factly as I can. All of them. It seems like she's asked hundreds before she closes her notebook.

"Okay, your turn. Lemme see what you got." she announces while snatching my notebook out of my hand and reading my notes.

"Hey!" I exclaim. I try to get it back, but she slaps my hand away.

I try again, but the next words out of her mouth stop me. "Not bad, Vega." She compliments before adding a few of her own notes to my notebook.

I stare at her. She just complimented me, and no. It wasn't sarcasm. It was a genuine compliment; like she's impressed.

When she hands me my notebook back, I stare at her notes. She didn't write down much, just the classes she actually enjoys, the classes she skips sometimes, the way she likes her coffee, and the fact that she "likes to kiss her boyfriend a lot."

The last one is underlined three or four times, like she wants me to know just how important that piece of information is.

So she likes to kiss her boyfriend, whoopee. What could possibly be so…important…oh no. I'm gonna be Jade tomorrow! And as Jade, I have to kiss my "boyfriend," Beck, a lot. But Beck isn't going to be Beck Tomorrow. His partner is Cat Valentine. Cat's gonna be Beck. I have to kiss Cat!

I start to wazz out. My eyes bug and my jaw drops. I'm too busy having my own internal freak out session that I pay no attention to Jade when she walks away, picks something up off of her dresser and starts back toward me. I don't even register the fact that she's in my face, one hand holding on to my chin, the other poised just above my left eyebrow.

"That's it. Just stay real still. This will only hurt for a minute." She's saying.

What? Hurt? What the hell is she…Dios mío! She's got a needle in her hand!

"What are you doing?" I squeal and slap at her hand.

"My eyebrow is pierced." She answers calmly. "And my nose."

My eyes widen. She's gonna give me piercings? Is she crazy!

I want out of this situation, and I don't care how I achieve that. I'm willing to fight, scratch, freakin' scream bloody murder if it'll help me escape this psychopath.

I think she can sense it because she tackles me, pinning me down; and for the second time today she's on top of me trying to have her way. The first time, she wanted me to get back in her car, a place where I just didn't feel safe. Now, she's trying to pierce my eyebrow with a needle I doubt is sterilized

"Hold still, Vega. I saw this in a movie once when I was a kid." Jade grunts.

"What?" What kind of chiz did her parents let her watch?

"It's no…big…deal! Just…stay...still!" Jade huffs as she struggles to keep me underneath her.

There's no way I'm staying still.

She leans in to me, trying to get the leverage needed to pin me down successfully the way she did earlier today. I can't risk that one. I couldn't get from up under her no matter how hard I tried when she did that. So, I Mike Tyson her.

Not as hard as he did to What's-his-face; but hard enough to unsettle her.

"Jade West! You know better than to let Riley….Oh…"

I extract my teeth from Jade's ear and snap my head toward the direction of the door. The girls are there, Riley and Amber, and in between them is a woman. Most definitely their mother. She's frozen, mouth hanging open and eyes wide; but she hasn't lost all mobility. She quickly covers the girls' eyes.

It's then that I realize I've lost my towel. I'm naked and Jade is on top of me. Oh…My…God! She probably thinks we're…no, I can't think it! I push at Jade, wanting her to get off me so I can cover myself, but she doesn't budge.

"I'm busy, Joy." She all but snarls; and I know it's my fault. There's no way she really talks to her mother like that. She's mad at me because I bit her…again, and now she's taking her anger out on her mother.

"I can see that. I just wish you could be a little less "busy" with two young impressionable minds running around the house." She looks down at the twins, as if to emphasize who the young impressionable minds are.

"Or I could lock my door." Jade counters.

"You know the rules."

"Then find a way to keep your young impressionable minds out of my room."

I groan and cover my eyes with my hands. I can't take this anymore. Why doesn't Jade's mom just leave? She's got to know that I'm beyond mortified. She has to!

I hear the door close after a very loud and long silence. Jade's mom finally left; I know it, but I keep my face covered. I don't think I've ever been more embarrassed in my life. I feel sick, feverish even. I'm hot all over and I know my skin is practically a glowing red.

"Vega."

"What?" I whisper, still refusing to uncover my face.

"You got blood all over my bed." Jade says. Then she's up and out of the bed.

I sit up and check my elbow. Yep, that's where the blood is coming from. It was okay before, but I guess our little squabble reopened the wound.

Jade comes back to me, a t-shirt and some cotton shorts in her hand. My god, I'm still naked.

I snatch the clothes from her and dress quickly. She walks away and comes back with a white cloth.

"Give me your arm." She commands.

I do so without hesitation. I shouldn't because I know she's evil; but I have a very trusting nature.

Jade presses the cloth against my elbow and I hiss. It's drenched in rubbing alcohol.

Jade smiles at me. She enjoyed seeing me in pain.

Freak.

Then she pulls out a box of band aids and tosses it at me. I scowl at her but then I start laughing loudly when I see the box. There are little pikachus, charmanders, squirtles, and jigglypuffs on it. Big bad Jade West has pokemon band aids!

"What? What's so funny Vega?" Jade's scowling at me from across the room.

"Nothing. I like Charmander. I cried when his fire almost went out on that one episode." I answer as I pick out a Charmander band aid and put it on. He reminds me of Jade. Earlier today, I compared her to a dragon, but since seeing her here, with sisters who love her, and her band aids with pokemon characters on it, she's kinda like a teeny wittle lizard, with just a little fire coming out of her tail.

"What are you _talking_ about?"

I show her my elbow. She walks up to me and grabs it before frowning. "What the hell," she murmurs before scooping the box of band aids off her bed.

Then she goes deathly still and the dragon comes back.

"Riley!" She screams.

"Jade!" her sister screams back.

"Where the fuck are my Invader Zim band aids!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: **PLEASE DON"T SKIP!Normally it wouldn't bother me if you skipped the author's note, but for this chapter I'm afraid you might be confused if you do. When Jade is referring to "Tori," she is referring to herself, to the _character_ she has to play, _not_ Tori Vega. It's my way of distinguishing Jade's normal behavior and habits from that of the character she's trying to portray for her assignment. Try to see it as if she's got a multiple personality disorder and the people who live in her head are named Tori and Jade. Whenever she mentions "Vega," however, she's talking about the_ real_ Tori Vega.

Also, I do realize Jade curses a lot more in this chapter than before, but it's only because she didn't have any coffee. I figured a cranky Jade would have a horrible mouth.

{~~~~JADE~~~~}

I hate fucking Tori. I really do. Who the hell wants to wake up an hour and a half before they have to be at school? Huh? I sure as hell don't, but Tori just _has_ to be on time for school, whereas I usually don't give two shits. Hell, I barely get up half an hour before school starts, and the drive there is about twenty minutes long!

Yeah, I'm never on time.

Plus, who the hell _doesn't _drink coffee in the morning!? Tori, that's who! I need my fucking coffee and I can't fucking have it because Tori eats a bowl of cereal or whatever her fucking mommy cooks for her for breakfast instead!

Needless to say, I'm cranky when I don't get my fucking coffee, but it's not like I can express the way I feel because Tori's a fucking cheery little songbird in the morning!

I make up my bed, smiling on the outside, but fuming on the inside. What normal fucking person makes up their bed? Huh? Fucking Tori.

After my bed's made, I clean up my room, putting everything in its correct place. I'm feeling murderous. Really. I just wanna kill, kill, kill, but I keep on fucking smiling. And I hum, and I bop my head, and I do a little dance, all as if I'm so very fucking happy that I woke up this fucking morning!

"Jade, wake up!" Joy yells from downstairs.

I take a deep breath. Normally, I'd ignore her, or curse her out, but stupid Tori wouldn't dare.

"I'm up, Joy!" I call back brightly. Ironically, the sugary response is a bitter taste on my tongue. I think I'm gonna be physically sick by the end of the day. I really do.

Joy doesn't answer me back. There's just a dead silence so I give a little shrug and continue to clean up my room. It's the last fuckin' Vega-like thing I have to do before going downstairs to eat breakfast. I'm already dressed; wearing her clothes from yesterday, cleaned now of course. And I've taken my extensions and piercings out. My holes will probably close and I'll have to get my piercings all over again, but I'll just reward myself with another tattoo so that it won't be a complete waste of time.

Suddenly, my door is opened; and if I were allowed to be Jade today I'd throw the item nearest to me at whoever's standing there in the doorway. Just because locking my door is against the rules doesn't mean people should be allowed to walk in whenever they fucking feel like it.

"Sorry, Jade. Mom said to see if you're okay cause you sounded funny."

I soften immediately. Not just because I'm supposed to pretend to be Vega, but because I always soften if it's just me and Amber alone together. She's a sickeningly sweet kid. It's impossible to hate her; but it's not like I'm a complete softie when it comes to her either. For the most part, I treat her the way I treat everyone else. Just a teeny weeny bit gentler.

"You look okay to me." She smiles at me.

I smile back at her. Tori makes me. Jade would've let out a sarcastic, "Thanks, now scram."

I walk up to my sister and put a hand on my doorknob. Obviously, I want to shut my door, but Amber doesn't take the hint, and I can't just shut my door in the kid's face. Tori won't let me.

"Is there something else you need, sissy," I ask with an amused smile on my face.

_Sissy? Ugh! Fuckin' Tori dude. Fuck-in' Tori._

Amber's eyes widen and her cheeks turn bright red within seconds. I can't say that I blame her. Not only is this undoubtedly my first time admitting out loud that she's related to me, but, sissy's definitely the nicest thing I've ever called her besides her name.

"You look really pretty today, Jade. I like your shirt." She admits after a long ass beat. She's not looking at me, but down at her shirt, nervously picking at the hem of it.

Ugh. She _woul_d like this stupid shirt. It's Vega's. It's got colors, and shapes, and shit on it. Not my style.

_Look for something nice on her so you can compliment her back._

What the fuck? Tori has _thoughts_ in my head now?! Really?

But I do as I'm told. I look my little sister up and down, trying to find something nice about her appearance.

It's hard. She's dressed like a kid. Nothing special. Shorts, t-shirt, sneakers. She doesn't wear make-up yet…so nothing special about her face either. Oh, her hair. She's wearing pink streaks today. They suit her better than the yellow from yesterday. But I don't tell her that immediately. I hesitate.

I sigh heavily; greatly disappointed in myself because I'm pretty sure Vega wouldn't hesitate to compliment her sister. I need to do better at this. I need to _be _Tori. Sikowitz may be a loon, but he's a good teacher, my favorite. He always says that if you're going to act a part, you need to _be _the part. Ergo, I _am _Tori.

Here goes nothing.

"I really like the pink streaks, Amber. They look good on you." I grin at her while playfully tugging on her hair.

Her eyes snap up to meet mine and she touches her hair. She wants to say thank you, I can see it, but she clamps her mouth shut; probably too afraid to say the wrong thing. Compliments from me are not a rare occurrence. They're a nonexistent occurrence.

"Did Joy make breakfast?" I ask her when the silence stretches on, and on, and fuckin' on.

Amber nods her head. She's still speechless.

"Tell her to save me a plate, please."

"Okay," she grins. "Mom!" She yells excitedly while running down the hallway, completely forgetting to shut my door back. If she had been Riley, I would've yelled after her for that. Or Jade would've, Tori wouldn't yell at anybody.

So, I shut my door and finish my room. It only takes a few minutes since I was almost done before I was interrupted.

I've got 45 more minutes to get to school when I head downstairs. I have to be early, because I'm Tori, and Vega has a perfect attendance record.

I smile and tell everyone good morning. Amber says good morning back. Riley acknowledges me with a nod of her head before shoving half of a dripping pancake into her mouth. Joy just stares at me.

"Is that for me?" I point to the plate in her hand and she nods her head before handing it over.

"Thank you, Joy," I tell her before taking it from her and sitting down next to Riley.

I use my fork and knife, because I'm Tori. Jade would be eating with her hands the same way Riley is.

Joy sits next to Amber. "So, who are you?" she asks me.

"Tori," I answer promptly.

"Tori from yesterday?"

_No stupid. Tori from Tomorrow._

"Yep!" I grin at her.

"For how long?" She asks, not missing a beat. She's used to this kind of thing.

"Just today."

"Damn." She mutters.

I fuckin' hate Tori. She just smiles and shrugs her shoulders at Joy; but Jade would very much like to smash this pancake against Joy's face.

"You're such a _nice_ girl, Tori." Joy announces suddenly with a bright smile on her face.

I want to narrow my eyes at my wicked stepmother, but Tori doesn't. She says, "thank you." Cause she's a fuckin' idiot.

"You're welcome. Amber, Riley, kiss your sister goodbye. Then get your stuff and head out to the car." Their mother commands.

I'm very careful not to let my jaw twitch, or to clench my teeth, or to do anything to tip off just how fuckin' pissed I am. Kiss me goodbye? We don't do that. We're not that type of family. We don't kiss, and we don't hug. If I'm feeling particularly friendly or affectionate, I'll maybe grab a hand for half a second, but that's it.

Riley ignores Joy and finishes her food. That's my girl. Maybe she irritates me more than her sister, but I respect her as an individual more. I love the rebel in her.

Amber on the other hand, gets up immediately, eagerly. The little weirdo _wants _to kiss me.

She comes to stand right beside me, then she falters, suddenly losing her nerve.

Tori keeps me from rolling my eyes as I hold my arms out, inviting her into a hug. Amber smiles, gaining a bit of confidence and throws her arms around my neck. She lays her head on my shoulder and holds me tight. I ignore how weird this feels and wrap my arms around her little body. Then I mentally count to five and pull back. There's only so much of this I can take.

"Have a good day at school, bugger." I smile before tapping her nose. Okay, bugger's weird, but Tori wanted to give the kid a nickname, and the nicest thing Jade could think of on the spot was bugger.

Sue me.

"Okay, I will, Jade." Amber promises. She doesn't seem the least bit upset over the gross nickname I'd just given her. She leans in quickly and pecks me on the cheek before bolting upstairs.

Weirdo.

I catch a glimpse of Joy and nearly barf. She's got a hand over her heart, a smile on her lips, and tears in her eyes. Jeez the moment wasn't that moving. She's acting like she's in the middle of a tear-jerking Lifetime movie.

She catches me staring at her and clears her throat before wiping her eyes and giving me a smile. Tori smiles back, but I can only do that for so long. So, I turn quickly and notice Riley's finished with her breakfast. She's getting up and heading towards me.

Oh god, it's part two.

I hold my arms out and to my pleasant surprise she gives me a halfhearted hug. In fact, she pulls back before I do. Sure, her arm's still on my shoulder, but it's more of a casual embrace rather than an intimate one.

I can handle that.

"Have a good day"-

"Don't you call me a bugger you nasty piece of snot." Riley scowls at me.

Oh, If I was Jade right now…

"How about bacon?" I chuckle good naturedly, but I just want to pick this kid up by her ears and watch her scream bloody murder.

"I like bacon." She shrugs.

"Bacon it is."

"Cool chiz." She smirks before putting her sticky little lips on mine.

The little shit! She just kissed me! I mean, she was supposed to, Amber just did, but she just kissed me on my mouth! I'm gonna kill her. Fuck Tori!

"So, Tori…" Joy starts off, and as I give her my attention, Riley runs upstairs.

It's just as well. Jade nearly came out. I can't afford that. I need to focus.

"Yes?" I answer my stepmother as sweetly as I can.

Joy sits down beside me and grabs both my hands in hers.

_Don't snatch away._ Tori coaches and I listen; but judging by the way Joy's acting I automatically know that Jade is _no_t gonna like what comes out of this woman's mouth. However, Tori the fucking idiot, just keeps on smiling and waiting for Joy to say what she's got to say.

"I'm gonna need you to do something for me, sweetheart." She says.

_Fuck you! _Jade thinks.

"Okay, like what?" Tori smiles.

"I've joined a new club. We meet every Thursday and I'm gonna need you to pick the girls up from school for me."

She's lost her fuckin' mind.

"What time will you be back?" I ask; and you can bet that shit came from Tori because Jade just wants to scream and punch things…and people, mainly people. Vega and Joy the most.

"Oh, around five or six. Do you think you can do that for me, honey?"

I nearly flinch at the word "honey," but again Tori takes over. She agrees to do it, and now I hate her even more. I never take back my word, and now because of Tori I have to pick Thing One and Thing Two up from school on Thursdays.

"Thank you so much, dear." She chuckles before wrapping her arms around me. I try not to stiffen, but I do. Joy's been trying to hug me since I was five, but I never let her. Now she's taking advantage of me, because I'm not Jade. I'm Tori. So I can't push her away.

I feel violated. I feel angry. But those are Jade's emotions and I can't feel them. I'm Tori.

I make a conscience effort to relax. Then I reciprocate the hug. Joy squeezes me tighter before kissing me on my forehead and leaving to gather up her little pre-terds.

"And try to be a good example for my little "impressionable minds." She calls over her shoulder and I understand this is her way of punishing me for having a naked Vega in my bed while her brats were home.

I don't respond to that because it won't benefit me in the least.

Jade has nothing nice to say and Tori just wants me to explain to Joy that me and Vega weren't doing anything.

So I just gather up my shit and go. I get that I'm supposed to be Vega, but as much as Tori wants to set things right with Joy, she also doesn't want to ruin her perfect attendance by showing up late for school.

It's a legit excuse.

{~~~~O~~~~}

Robbie looks ridiculous. But I can't say it out loud because of stupid Tori.

God, I miss Jade. I've missed her all day. I mean, I'm doing better than I was doing this morning. I had a coffee a few hours back, so that cheered me up a little. But not all the way. Being Vega still sucks. Because of Tori, I've been on time to each and every one of my classes. I've been polite, I've been astute, I even helped a girl who dropped her books in front of me.

Jade would've snarled at her, had her trembling so bad that she wouldn't have been able to pick up her books with steady hands. Nope, fucking Tori had to help her pick up the books, smile at her, ask her what her name was, and all that other shit. And then what was worse, I had to sit there and listen as the girl told me her name was Melissa, that she'd just moved here from…wherever, and that it was her first day here.

Then Tori just _had _to ask her how she got in, and Melissa flipped her very long, and very curly, red hair away from her face before going through the story which Jade promptly tuned out while Tori kept smiling at her.

That's the only way I could make that work. I swear.

God, I don't know how much longer I can take being Tori. I just wanna let Jade say what she has to say. I mean, right now Robbie's hair is in twisties…in _twisties_ for crying out loud! And his pants, they're two sizes too big. He's got a belt on, but it's not helping. They keep falling and I keep getting a very unwanted peak at his Spiderman boxers. He's not pulling André's look off at all.

Not that Andre's doing any better at being Robbie. His pants are entirely too tight. It's quite distracting actually. Robbie may be able to get away with wearing girl pants but André obviously needs more room to breathe. He's constantly shifting from foot to foot and tugging on his jeans.

I shake my head and smile as I feel sorry for them, when really, this is hilarious. Everyone doing Sikowitz' project just looks stupid. Well, Cat doesn't look that stupid. She looks more or less like a tom boy because she's supposed to be Beck.

Which reminds me….Beck and I are dating, which means Cat and Vega are dating. I can't wait to see _that_.

I look up and down the hallway, searching for Vega. Now that I think about it, schools halfway over and I haven't seen her today. Not even once. Not that I was looking for her or anything.

"HI, HI, Tori!"

The wind is knocked out of me as a body crashes into me.

Jade nearly comes out, but at the last second I remember that it's Tori's day. So, I frown rather than kill as two arms wrap around me from behind. Why does everyone think they can hug me today?

Then the arms let me go and I turn around, coming face to face with Beck…as Cat.

My, God. I wasn't expecting _this_. Beck's wearing a dress, a very _short _pink dress. His legs are shaved, and he's wearing baby doll flats. I was expecting the flats, and the red wig, but the other stuff…can you say dedicated.

The bell rings, letting us know it's time to get to our next class.

Sikowitz.

"Bell!" Beck squeals before literally skipping off to class.

I laugh at him and follow everyone else to class. I also find myself constantly looking behind me, wondering when, or if, Vega is gonna show up. I don't know why, but I really wanna see what she's done to me.

To my great annoyance, Vega doesn't show up for class. Not that Sikowitz is here either.

Oh wait, here he comes…through the window.

"Jade!" he calls excitedly.

I don't answer. It's obviously a test. I'm Tori.

"What?" A bored voice answers from behind me.

I turn quickly and look. There in the doorway, is Vega.

My mouth falls open and I openly stare at her. Yes, I'm impressed, but it's not even the Jade clothes or the attitude. Which she's pulling off _almost_ as well as I do. It's her eyes and her nose. She's got piercings. Real ones. I can see that from here.

I thought for sure she was going to use some rhinestones.

"Have you ever thought of coming in through the window?" Sikowitz asks, interrupting my thoughts.

Okay, random.

"Have you ever thought about how much I would love to push you _out_ of a window?" She answers before rolling her eyes and taking the seat next to Cat.

Well damn.

My eyes follow her. Not once do I blink. I can't believe this. She's doing good. Really good. I would totally say that to Sikowitz.

Vega turns a little and notices me staring at her. Tori makes me give her a friendly smile, and Vega's response is a harsh glare before she gives Sikowitz her full attention.

My mouth falls open again, one thought running through my mind. Surprisingly, I'm not thinking about how much I want to kill Vega for the harsh looks she's giving me because she's doing what she's supposed to be doing. She's being me.

And I can't help but to think: Damn, I'm a sexy beast.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: **Wow! I was not expecting so many reviews! Thank you so much. I really thought I'd confuse a few of ya with that last chapter but obviously I freaked myself out for no reason. Not only did you get it, but you seemed to like it as well. THANK YOU!

**Disclaimer: **So, I don't own Victorious _and _I used some dialogue and scenes from "Cat's New Boyfriend" and "Jade Dumps Beck"

{~~~~TORI~~~~}

I thought being Jade would be hard. It's not. Okay, getting the piercings was no fun, but I've been assured that the holes will close up once I take the rings out.

Other than that, I've actually been having a bit of fun. Being Jade is a very liberating experience. I can say brutally honest things without worrying about hurting people's feelings. People like my sister, Trina. She woke me up this morning while she was doing "voice warm ups." Oh. My. God. Trust me, it's the most awful sound imaginable; and I got to tell her so this morning because the real Jade wouldn't hesitate to. Then I went back to sleep.

That's another good thing about being Jade. I got to sleep in late. In fact, I'm just now getting to school. And it's nearly lunch time!

The hallways are empty; meaning I'm late for my next class, but I take my time. One: I'm Jade. Two: Next class is Sikowitz. He'll probably come in later than me anyway. He was late yesterday; and according to Jade's notes he's late more often than he is not.

Once I'm at the door, I take a deep breath, realizing that being Jade has only been so easy because my only audience has been my family so far; and they don't know Jade. It's not like they could've given me any honest feedback as to whether or not I'd actually been acting like the real Jade. They could only tell that I wasn't _me_. I mean, blue contacts, pierced eyebrow, pierced nose, drawn on tattoo, black boots, black jeans, black top, black nails, and blue streaks in my hair….That's not me at all. So to them, I did an excellent job being Jade. So excellent that my mom had to remind my freaked out father that I don't go to Sherwood High anymore. I go to a performing arts school, a school that teaches young adults how to be a star; and that underneath my "costume" I was still his little girl.

I was touched by the speech. I really was. It was one of those family moments when I'm like "Aww, thanks Mom," and then my dad agrees and gives me a hug; but this morning when my dad wanted to hug me, I rolled my eyes and held my hand out.

He stopped just before his arms encircled me and frowned at me. "What?" He asked. My poor Papi was so confused.

So I un-confused him. "Gimme money for the cab." I commanded.

He blinked at me, his arms still poised as if he was about to hug me.

I stared at him until he got the hint and dropped the arms. Then he sighed and said, "Why don't you just let Trina take you?"

"NO!" I screamed so loud he jumped back away from me. I was worried about hurting his feelings when I did that, but then he laughed and said, "Dang, girl."

I glared at him, leaving my empty hand out for him to fill. And he did it! He gave me two twenties. Way more than I needed. Then he said, "Have a nice day at school, _Jade_."

"Whatever," I replied as nastily as I could, but I was extremely happy that he understood...

But, what if my classmates _don't _understand? What if I do so bad at being Jade everyone starts to think I got in by mistake? What if I _did _get in by mistake? What if-

_Stop, Tori. Just stop it. _I chide myself. I can do this. Yesterday during group improv Sikowitz told me that if I'm going to play a dog, I need to _be _a dog. He didn't say that if I'm going to play a dog, I should _act like _a dog.

I take a deep breath and apply that same concept to this exercise. If I'm going to play Jade, I need to _be _Jade.

Jade belongs at Hollywood Arts, and Jade doesn't care about what others think of her,

I open the door, more confident than I was two seconds ago. I can do this.

The first thing my eyes are drawn to is the window. Why? Because that's how my teacher is getting into the classroom instead of using a door like a normal human being.

"Jade!" He calls excitedly when he sees me.

"What?" I cross my arms over my chest and start to think of any possible rebuttals the real Jade would give Sikowitz if he makes a comment about her being late.

But I come up with nothing!

I wouldn't say I "freak out" per se…I would just say that a little of my confidence has left me and I'm starting to feel like maybe I _won't_ be able to pull this off.

I glance André's way for no particular reason and note that he's got Rex in his lap. It's so weird. Actually, _everyone_ looks _weird_. Robbie's got twisties in his hair. Beck's wearing a pink dress. Cat's…Cat is…Beck. Jade's boyfriend._ My_ boyfriend! And I gotta kiss her! I forgot I have to kiss Cat! Oh my god, how could I forget that I have to kiss Cat today!

"Have you ever thought of coming in through the window?" Sikowitz says, cutting into my internal freak out session.

I focus my attention back on him. "Have you ever thought about how much I would love to push you _out_ of a window?" The answer comes to me, just out of freakin' nowhere. It's just like yesterday during improv when I really got into my dog character and bit Jade.

"Excellent!" Sikowitz claps excitedly and I roll my eyes before taking the seat next to Cat.

When I sit down, I make sure to slouch and keep my legs wide open. I'm sitting like a dude and barely making it a conscious effort. It's like I'm Jade. And I smirk a little to myself. What the heck was I so worried about? I got this. I'm practically a natural at this improv acting stuff. These actions just _come _to me.

I turn my head a little, wanting to get a peek of the real Jade. Curiosity's taken over and I have the strongest urge to see how she's pulling me off.

She's looking back at me and my first instinct is to smile at her because she's smiling at me; _and_ I've just realized how incredibly nice she looks when she's wearing an expression other than a scowl.

But I can't smile at her. I'm Jade, and the real Jade hates me…er Tori….or whatever. So, I glare at her. I make sure to fix her with a glare so fierce my eyes are practically _screaming_, 'what the f-word are you looking at?'

She turns away quickly and I smirk again before giving Sikowitz my full attention.

"Now class, today…." Sikowitz pauses there to take a very long sip of coconut juice; and since I know the real Jade is extremely impatient, I give a loud sigh before pulling a pair of scissors out of my messenger bag and snipping at my blue extensions. "I want you guys to mingle while I _observe_." Sikowitz finally finishes his statement.

I look up from my hair and give him a blank look, not a "confused" blank look, a "bored" blank look. One quick scan of the classroom and I'm more than positive the only person the real Jade would want to mingle with is her boyfriend.

That girl _really_ needs to get some friends.

"And action!" he shouts.

Show time.

I get up before Cat can even move a muscle and plop into her lap.

"Uh Jade, Sikowitz said to"-

"To mingle." I cut her off. "And I'm mingling." I whisper the last part before pressing my lips to hers. Might as well get this part out of the way.

For the record, this isn't my first time kissing a girl. There was that one time at summer camp five years ago; but I was twelve, and it was a truth or dare kind of thing. It didn't even last a full second.

But _this _kiss…._way _longer than a second. And way better than the other one.

Cat pulls back first.

She doesn't blush, or act girly at all. She rubs the back of her neck, just like any guy would do if he's a little… _uncomfortable._

How'd she _do _that?! I get that we're supposed to be acting like someone else, but to be able to control whether or not you _blush_?

And it's _Cat_! It may only be my second day here but Cat is easy to clock. She's the ditzy blonde with red velvet hair. I expected her to break character at least once a minute; but obviously she's an excellent actress. It just boggles my mind. Really! How is it that she can be so clueless, yet pull off acting like someone else without faltering?

Cat clears her throat and it's _so_ loud. That's when I notice the silence. Everyone in the classroom is supposed to be mingling. Why's it so silent?

I look around. Everyone's staring at us. Everyone except Sikowitz. He's frowning at his coconut. I think he's the only one who missed my kiss with Cat.

"Babe, I think Sikowitz wants us to mingle with our classmates." Cat interrupts me just as I was beginning to hyperventilate.

"No." I answer stubbornly, turning back to her. Mingle with them? No thank you. The boys are all drooling and the girls are slack jawed, including Jade. She's doing me wrong. I would_ not _stare at a kissing couple with my jaw hanging off its hinges. Even _if_ the kissing couple consisted of two girls.

I glare at her, one eyebrow raised, until she turns away. I'd rather kiss Cat again than to mingle with my classmates, and I'm pretty sure the real Jade would feel the same. So, I do just that. I grab Cat's face and mash my lips to hers.

"Jade, kiss your boyfriend on your own time."

Dang it Sikowitz! It was just getting good. No, wait. That came out wrong. I just meant that I was hoping I could kiss Cat until class was over…no, that doesn't sound right either. Just forget it.

I pull away from Cat, glare at Sikowitz, and give Cat's lips one last peck as a form of rebellion. Hopefully that's something the real Jade would do.

"Babe." Cat makes a big show of looking own at her lap, which means she wants me to get off.

"Fine!" I scowl at her and sit back in my own seat, but not before scooting my chair closer to hers so that I can drape my legs across her lap. I saw the real Jade to this to Beck more than once yesterday. "Cat, André, Robbie, and the puppet. Get over here and mingle," I yell, purposely leaving out my own name. I don't think the real Jade would call me over. She hates me.

Immediately, Beck, André, and Robbie scoot their seats over.

"Talk!" I bark.

They do so right away. And they talk about absolutely_ nothing_. Jeez, are people really this afraid of the real Jade?

"See? I'm mingling." I tell Cat before picking up my scissors again.

"So um Jade,"

I turn and there Jade is, standing next to me. I frown. I did _not_ call her over.

"I just w-wanna apologize for spilling um coffee on you yesterday. Do y-you think we can…we can start over, be friends? Maybe?"

I keep my expression passive, but inside I'm fuming. She's begging me to be her friend, bottom lip protruded, hands clasped together in a prayer like fashion, and I can't help but to get irritated.

Is this what she thinks of me? She thinks I'm _that_ afraid of her? Okay, so I don't like confrontation as a general rule, but I'm _not _a weak, stuttering, little…whatever Jade seems to think I am!

I reach back and drag the nearest chair over. _Close _to me. "Sit" I command.

She smiles at me. I smile back; but as soon as her butt touches the chair I strike. Quick as lightning, I lunge forward and cut a lock of her hair.

She jumps up out of her seat and grabs her hair, but it's too late. I got what I wanted and now I'm carefully snipping at the lock, letting the nearly microscopic scissored ends fall to the ground like confetti.

"What do you think you're doing!" Jade yells at me.

I smile sweetly at her.

Temper, Temper.

Either I made her break character, or I made her admit that I've got a little fire inside of me; that I'm not just a weak stuttering…_whatever._

"I'm mingling." I answer. I raise an eyebrow at her, daring her to question the way I "mingle."

Sluuuurrrrrpp.

I visibly flinch before turning my head the other way to give whoever just slurped in my ear a punch to the face. But I can't. It's Sikowitz. And he's at the end of his coconut. He takes another long and _very_ loud slurp next to my ear before speaking.

"Hi." He says simply.

"What?" I glare back.

He holds his hand out, and I pretend like I don't know what he wants.

"Gimme, Gimme," he says while pointing at my scissors.

I stare at him until he starts to do the "gimme" gesture with his hand. Then I sigh heavily before placing the scissors in his hand, sharp part facing his eyeball.

"You'll get these back after you _mingle_."

"But I am mingling."

"Like a normal person!" he yells before walking away.

I scowl at his back before looking back at my empty hands. Well, almost empty. I've still got a lock of Jade's hair.

I turn to face her and hold it out to her. "You want it back?"

"No thank you. You keep it." She shrinks away from me, still holding onto her hair.

I shrug and put the lock in my pocket. I have no idea why I think the real Jade would do something like that, but I think she would.

"You should probably say you're sorry," Cat says. I glance over at her and she's watching Jade, sympathy just oozing out of all of her pores.

"But I'm not sorry."

"Say it anyway."

I mumble out something that _could_ be sorry…in alien-speak. And I make sure I'm not looking at Jade when I say it, because I don't mean it. I'm not sorry.

Cat shrugs at Jade, knowing that's the best the real Beck would be able to get out of the real Jade.

Jade gives Cat a small appreciative smile back.

And _I _feel the need to break up the love fest. The gank is practically flirting with my boyfriend right in front of me!

"Let's play a game," I suggest as if I'd rather walk barefoot across bloody glass, because I'm sure the real Jade would rather walk barefoot across some bloody glass.

"Yay!" Beck squeals. "I love games. One time, my brother taught me how to play a game called "run from the cops."

Everyone just stares at him.

"They caught us," he finishes while rubbing his wrists lightly. And everyone picks up on the fact that he's supposed to be subconsciously remembering how the handcuffs felt, which in turn suggests that they had been running from _real _cops.

Again, no one says anything. What is there _to _say? I'm not even sure of what the real Jade would say, but luckily for me I don't have to respond. The whole class is interrupted when the door opens and a girl walks in. She's got _the_ most beautiful red hair I've ever seen; but I keep that to myself. I can compliment her tomorrow, when I'm Tori again.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Sikowitz," she exclaims, totally pronouncing his name wrong. "I got lost."

Sikowitz frowns at the girl. "And you are?"

"Oh, I'm Melissa. I'm new here." She holds up a piece of paper. More than likely it's her schedule.

"What an interesting last name. Well, Melissa Imnuhere, take a seat. Anywhere you please!" Sikowitz concludes, completely ignoring the schedule.

"No, No. I'm _new _here." She explains.

"Of course you are! Take a seat, please." He says before walking away to watch another group of students mingle.

Melissa just stands there, watching him. My heart goes out to her. Poor thing looks so lost and confused.

"Hey, Melissa. Come sit over here with us," Jade calls the new girl over.

When Melissa sees Jade, she smiles in relief. "Hi Tori!" she gushes.

"Guys, Melissa and I share first period." Jade explains as she pulls up a seat next to me for Melissa. That means she shares first period with _me._

I'd like to smile and welcome her, but I don't think the real Jade would. So I cross my arms over my chest and scowl at Jade. "What if I don't want her sitting next to me, Vega?"

Jade rolls her eyes and switches seats with Melissa.

And this is the hardest part about being Jade. Speaking my mind may have been liberating before, but that was when I doing it to people who know that I'm Tori, not Jade.

Melissa doesn't know that. Melissa doesn't know that this isn't me. I can see the hurt and confusion flash through her eyes when I say that I don't want her to sit by me, and it makes me feel like kaka. And the part that's harder than_ all_ of that? Pretending like I don't care. Because I do care.

I don't want to hurt people. I don't want to be Jade anymore.

I check the clock. Five more minutes until lunch. I only have to be Jade for five more minutes.

I can do this.

"No, switch back. I'd rather sit by the redhead." I tell Jade once she's sitting next to me.

"Too bad."

I raise my eyebrows at her as if I can't believe she defied me.

She raises her eyebrows back, challenging me.

"So, what game we supposed to be playin' yo?" Robbie cuts in to our little nonverbal showdown. Man he sucks at being André; and apparently I'm not the only one to notice because Rex says, "That is not the way André would say that, fool."

I let out a small smirk. André's pretty bad at throwing his voice. Granted, I'm sure he's a thousand times better than me.

"Um…"

Everyone looks to Melissa.

"I'm sorry, I just…what's going….I mean, what am I supposed to be _doing_?" She's staring at Beck, probably wondering why he's wearing a dress and a wig.

I'd love to explain to her what's going on. I really would, but that would mean breaking character. So I say, "Don't talk. Just watch. That's what you're supposed to being doing. You look better with your mouth shut anyway."

"Jade…." Cat calls out in a warning tone.

"What?"

"No more talking."

"But I"-

"No more."

"Fine!" I swing my legs off of Cat's lap and plant them firmly in front of me before crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at whatever's in front of me, which happens to be André .

"And cut!" Sikowitz yells. "Excellent job everyone! Except for you." He points at a boy on the right side of the classroom. "You failed miserably. And you…and you…oh, and definitely you…" he continues as he goes around the class, pointing at a few more kids. But he doesn't come anywhere _nea_r me.

"I passed! Oh my God I passed! I passed! I passed! I passed!" I yell excitedly while jumping up and down a few times. Then I pull Cat to me in a huge hug. And I mean un abrazo immenso, before giving her lips a very loud smack of a kiss.

The classroom gets quiet, _again_, and I know why. I kissed Cat. I'm not Jade anymore and she's not Beck anymore, but I kissed her anyway! It's not my fault. I was just so excited about not failing and I don't know… I guess I'm just so used to Cat being my "boyfriend" that it just sort of happened.

Thank God Cat isn't freaking out. She just squeals "Me too!" and starts jumping up and down the way I'd just been doing.

"I know!" I celebrate with her. Choosing to keep a little Jade-ism to myself, the part of Jade that doesn't care about what other people think of her. If I act like_ I_ don't care maybe everyone in my classroom won't care either.

And it works! Everyone goes back to doing whatever they were doing. I can hear separate conversations, chairs moving, book bags being gone through; the works.

I turn away from Cat quickly, searching out the new girl. I haven't forgotten about her and I want her to know that I'm Tori; that I was just pretending to be mean.

I spot her immediately. She's talking to Jade, who's ignoring her completely as she goes through her bag.

I walk up to her and tap her on the shoulder. She glares at me, which I deserve; but before I can explain myself to her Sikowitz shouts, "Melissa Imnuhere! Come see me please."

Then the bell rings.

"I'm gonna go change." Beck announces before kissing Jade's cheek. "Meet ya at the Café."

André, Robbie and Cat all say "me too" before heading out.

I'd head out too, but I really wanna talk to Melissa when Sikowitz is done, so I stay behind. Lucky for me, I don't need to change. I just gotta take these godforsaken piercing out and I'm done.

"Ow." I flinch as I pull them out. Not a pleasant experience.

"Hey, Vega." Jade practically snarls as she comes to stand in front of me. I frown back at her. I had no idea she was still here.

"Yes, Jade?"

"Gimme those."

She's pointing at the rings I just pulled outta my face. I narrow my eyes at her suspiciously, but hand them over anyway. She puts them in a baggie she just procured out of thin air, then starts for the door, not even bothering to offer an explanation. What the heck is she gonna do with those?

I jog a little to catch up to her, completely forgetting that I wanted to talk to Melissa, and grab Jade's arm. She whirls around, eyes blazing. "Never touch me!" she yells.

I let go immediately, but I'm not scared. How can I be? I've been Jade all day, and there are some things I even like about her. I like that she's not afraid to say what she thinks, no matter the consequence. I like that she gets to sleep in. I like the evil smirk. It's a lot fun to do. I even like the blue streaks. "I just wanted to say I had fun being you today, Jade." I tell her, though it's not originally what I wanted to say.

"I'm sure you did."

"So…"

She gives me a blank stare.

I roll my eyes. "So, how'd you like being me?" I ask.

She tilts her head to the side and stares at me some more; and just when I come to the conclusion that she's not going to answer, she says, "I learned something."

"Really? Like what?" I grin.

"I hate Tori."

{~~~~O~~~~}

For the last two days I've been trying to get Jade to like me. Well, maybe like is too strong of a word considering she's been mocking and insulting me every chance she gets. At this point, I think I'll settle for her not hating me.

I glance up at Jade's locker as I'm going through mine. I don't know why. I know there's a good chance she won't be there. She hardly ever makes it to first period.

And surprise, she's not there.

Not that I would notice her even if she was there today because I see Danny. My ex-boyfriend from Sherwood.

What's he doing here?!

He spots me immediately, giving me no time to duck off and pretend like I didn't see him.

"Tori?" he calls loudly and all but jogs over to me. He's grinning widely, like he's just so dang happy to see me.

I wish I felt the same way.

"You look amazing!" he exclaims before reaching out to me. I kinda flinch away, thinking he's gonna try and caress my face orsomething, but he doesn't. He touches my earing and nods his head in approval. "This is cool." He smiles.

My earing is more than _cool_. It's made up of a couple of blue and purple really long feathers; so long that they hang down past my shoulders and mix with my hair. The feathers remind me of the extensions that I had to wear when I was Jade. I really loved those things, but it's not like I could _keep _wearing them after Tuesday. That's Jade's thing. So I went to the mall and got a bunch of these earrings. I have nearly two dozen different colored pairs so that I can match them with my outfits.

I tuck my hair behind my ear, discreetly pulling my feathers away from Danny in the process. He doesn't even notice.

"So what are you doing here?" I ask with a smile on my face. Though he doesn't really deserve for me to be nice to him, I've decided to do it anyway. That's just me.

"My girlfriend, she goes here now and I was supposed to meet her here because she left her"-

"You know what Danny, I gotta go. I was supposed to meet someone like five minutes ago." I interrupt, suddenly not feeling the whole "nice" thing anymore.

"That's too bad," he gives a small pout. "Maybe we can hang out or something, maybe go on a double date…wait are you _even _dating yet?"

Oh, he's such a jerk!

"Of course I'm dating someone," I scoff before I can think about any consequences that may come from lying. I just don't want him to think that I'm miserable and lonely without him. Because I'm not. I just don't have a boyfriend, that's all. I can be happy without a boyfriend.

I can.

"Cool, you'll get to meet my girlfriend, and I'll get to see who you're dating. Friday sound good?" he asks.

"This Friday? As in tomorrow?"

"Yeah." He tilts his head a little and gives me this grin. It's evil; like he knows I'm not dating and is trying to call my bluff.

I don't want to give him the satisfaction. "Are you sure it won't be awkward for you?" I shoot back immediately.

His smile widens. "Oh, I'm sure."

"Okay, sounds great. See you tomorrow." I say before turning and rushing away.

Jammit! What have I done! I don't have a date. Ugh! How'd I get into this mess? No, how do I get _out _of this mess.

Think Tori, think!

But I don't think of anything over the next few hours because the answer to my problem is quite simple. I can do one of three things: A) I can cancel the double date for tomorrow; B) I can beg someone to pretend to be my date; Or C) I can just simply die before tomorrow.

I sigh heavily as I make my way to fourth period. My favorite class because of Sikowitz.

Options A and C are out of the question; which means I need to find someone to pretend to be my date.

The first person I think of is André. He _is _my best friend here, but then I change my mind almost immediately. As much as I love André, he's just not that good of an actor. He's here because he's a musical genius. I don't think there's an instrument on this earth he wouldn't be able to play. But if I wanna convince Danny that I've moved on, my partner is going to have to be convincing as my boyfriend.

The next person I think of is Beck. He's one of the best actors here, but he's also got Jade. Jade would kill me for just thinking about it.

And that's it. Those are the only two guys I consider. Yeah, I don't spare one thought for Robbie. He's a bit…well, he wears girl jeans, you know?

Wait, a _girl_. I should bring a girl to the date! Oh, Danny would freak _out_. He's got this theory that girls only date other girls because they've never had a _real _man before. He would _totally _spazz out if he found out I'm dating a girl now.

The more I think about it, the better it's starting to sound; and the better it sounds, the more determined I am to make it happen.

I think…I really think I'm gonna do it. I _can _do it. I kissed Cat, didn't I?

Yes. I've made the decision. I'm gonna bring a girl to the double date. Now all I've got to do is figure out which girl; which should be easy as I only associate with two girls here; Cat and Jade.

I _could _bring Cat. It would be so easy. All I'd have to do is tell her that we're playing a game and she'd do it. I know it. But as adorable as Cat is, I know she won't do. Danny will know I'm not serious about her. She's no threat at all.

So that leaves…Jade.

_Okay_, back to thinking about the guys. Maybe I can get Beck to do it without Jade finding out.

"Tori, Tori." I jump a little and look up, guilty expression on my face. There he is, Beck, and he's with Jade. "Can you come here?" he says and a feeling of dread washes over me. They're arguing. I can tell and I don't want to be in the middle.

"What?" I say warily, hopefully he'll catch onto the fact that I don't _want _to "come here."

He doesn't. He motions me over and I drag my feet, making a conscious effort not to look at Jade. I just know she's glaring at me. She does that a lot.

"If you were my girlfriend," Beck starts, and I wince, already knowing that's not the best way to start off a sentence when standing next to Jade.

"Oh, great way to start the question." She scoffs.

See? I was Jade all day Tuesday. I _knew_ that was coming.

"Would you be all freaked out that I'm just friends with Alyssa Vaughn?" Beck ignores her and continues to ask me.

And now I really wish I'd stayed out of this. Truth is, I wouldn't like it. Danny had a "friend." I found pictures of her on his phone. I asked him how he knew her because _I_ knew that she didn't go to our school. He told me she was an old friend that he hardly ever got to see because she lived too far away.

Then I found out she didn't live far away at all and that she and Danny were more than just "friends."

"Who cares what she thinks!" Jade exclaims, and before I can stop myself, I tell them that I wouldn't love it if he were friends with Alyssa Vaughn.

"_I_ care what she thinks." Jade says after hearing my answer. She takes a step toward me and wraps an arm around my shoulder. I've been trying to get her to like me for two days, but _this_ doesn't feel right. I feel miserable. Especially when Beck asks me if I think a girlfriend should just trust her boyfriend. Because he's right. Beck is not Danny. Jade should trust him.

I look to the ground as I answer. "Yeah, she should be able to."

"Alright, you know what?" Jade says, and her tone makes me look up.

"Tell me what." Beck counters.

This is bad. I can feel it. "No,_ no_, don't tell him what," I beg and grab Jade's arm, but she ignores me. She doesn't even yell at me for touching her. She _always _yells at me for touching her.

"We're done." She points from herself to Beck.

"Jade!" I exclaim.

"So, you're breaking up with me?" Beck asks; he's not even taking her seriously. _I_ can't even take her seriously because this is a _ridiculous_ reason to break up with someone.

Jade opens her mouth, and by the way she fixes her lips I can tell she's going to say yes.

I don't give her the chance. I cover mouth with one hand and grab her arm with the other. "No, no, no, no, no she's not." I tell Beck.

She turns her head to face me, her eyes wide. I'm pretty sure she can't believe I had the nerve to silence her, and I know that the look in her eyes means she's gonna kill me, but I don't let go.

"No, no; you two aren't breaking up." I hiss at her, shaking my head back and forth.

She tugs at my wrist, trying to get me to free her, but I refuse. I'm really surprised she hasn't bitten me yet. If the roles were reversed I most definitely would've taken a chunk out of her palm by now.

She yanks on my wrist, much harder this time and her mouth is free. "Ye" is all she gets out before I use my other hand to cover her mouth.

"Vega!" She snarls against my palm. Her voice is muffled but I know my name when I hear it, no matter how it's pronounced.

"You're not breaking up!" I shake my head some more.

She can't break up with Beck. Not right now. Not today. If she does, it will be all my fault. I let my personal experience influence the way I answered Beck's question. Maybe if I had put Jade's mind at ease, let her know she was silly to ever think Beck would cheat on her, they'd be just fine.

I'm so lost in my thoughts that the next thing I know, I'm on my back and I've hit the concrete, hard.

Jade pushed me down. Subconsciously, I must've realized I was falling because I gripped Jade's face even tighter and she came crashing down on top of me.

_Why_ is she always on top of me? Por que? Por que? Por que?

I push her off of me, flipping us over so that I'm on top for the first time. It feels good…um not like _that, _but like I'm the winner this time or whatever.

Not that I get any time to celebrate. She flips us back over and glares at me. I gulp, wondering how she's gonna hurt me for what I've done. Will she slap me; punch me; gauge my eyes out, what?"

She flicks my nose.

"Ow, Jade!" I exclaim. Okay, getting flicked on the nose doesn't sound like much, but it still kinda hurt.

She gets off of me and brushes imaginary dirt off of herself. I mimic her actions.

"Yes, Beck. I'm breaking up with you." She says smoothly, as if she was never interrupted. Then she's walking off in the opposite direction of Sikowitz class. I think she's going home and I feel even worse than before. Jade never skips Sikowitz's class.

"I'm sorry, Beck" I tell Jade's boyfriend. Her ex-boyfriend now I guess.

He smiles back at me. "Don't worry about it." He says before going to class.

I make to follow after him, but my phone buzzes. I pull it out of my pocket and groan when I see that it's a text from Danny reminding me about our date tomorrow. He's really excited. There are half a dozen exclamation points in his short little message. It makes me mad. No, _he _makes me mad. He's made it so that I couldn't even give my friends good advice on their relationship, and now I want to punish him for that. I want to watch him squirm so freakin' bad; and I just know that the best way to do that is to invite a girl on the double date.

And I know the perfect girl.

Jade. She's an excellent actress. She's beautiful, intimidating, and she'll make Danny feel smaller than his chewed up pinky nail.

Of course she'll say no when I ask, but I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get her to say yes. I don't care if she wants me to do all of her homework for the rest of the year! Then, after the date Friday night, I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get her back together with Beck. No matter _what_ it is.

I owe them that.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: **I'm so sorry this chapter is so long. I couldn't figure out where to cut it. Hopefully it doesn't bore or discourage you! Maybe you could even take a lunch break halfway and come back to it?

{~~~~~JADE~~~~~}

It's happening again. I'm having a bad day here at Hollywood Arts. This time it's not Vega's fault, although I'll figure out a way to pin the blame on her later. I just broke up with Beck yesterday. We'd been going out for forever and just like that, I lose my temper and my boyfriend. _Then_ he has the nerve to show up with Alyssa Vaughn today.

I couldn't deal, so I ran to the girls' bathroom.

I should be crying. I kinda _want _to cry. Normal girls would be crying right now. But I'm Jade West. I hardly ever cry and I'm not exactly normal.

"Um, hey Jade?"

Whoa, it's like déjà vu or something. My eyes shift, and there she is, Vega. I fix my face into a scowl at the sight of her. "What do you want?" I ask harshly; because I already _know _what she wants. She wants to see if I'm okay and I'd rather shove my pinky down the garbage disposal than endure the pity fest.

"I was uh…I was wondering if you could help me with something."

I turn then and give her my attention, eyebrows raised inquiringly. How selfish of her. I came in her after seeing my boyfriend, my _ex_-boyfriend, ride to school with Alyssa Vaughn. Alyssa fuckin' _Vaughn_! I'm having a _moment, _and she wants to know if _I_ can help _her_ with something.

Okay, honestly I'm relieved, even impressed (there goes that word again), that she she's not asking me if I'm okay; but at the same time, why the fuck would _I_ help her with anything?

She takes a deep breath, gathering with it as much courage as she can before she continues. "Can we pretend to date?"

My jaw drops.

"For just tonight. That's it, I swear!" She rushes.

I close my mouth with an audible snap and look down at myself.

Skirt? Check.

Boobs? Double check.

Vagina. Invisible to everyone, but it's most definitely there. So, check.

Definitely a girl today.

I look back up at Vega, hoping she'll catch on without me having to say it out loud.

She doesn't.

"My ex, Danny, is dating some girl that goes here, and I kinda ran into him yesterday, and I kinda told him I was dating too, and he kinda invited me and my date on a double date _tonight_, and I kinda said yes so now I need a date." She continues quickly as if I'm not staring at her like she's completely lost her fuckin' mind. It's like she was so damn determined for me to hear her out in hopes that her explanation will make me understand what she's asking of me better.

It doesn't.

"So…will you do it?" she pleads desperately, lower lip jutted out in a pathetic pout.

"So you kiss Cat one time and now you're bi?" I taunt her.

It's a mistake. I should have told her no, rolled my eyes, and left her standing here all by herself. Instead, I've encouraged her to keep talking. Never something I should purposely do unless it's to benefit myself…which this won't.

"No! I'm straight," Vega blushes as she continues on with her explanation. "I was just, well, Danny said that lesbians are only lesbians because their ex-boyfriends didn't do "it" right, so I figured if I brought a _girl_ to the double date…" She trails off, not needing to elaborate 'cause I'm not dumb. I get it. If her ex thinks that girls only run to their same sex because their boyfriends sucked in bed, then he'll be in for a major blow to his ego when Vega shows up with a girl. Especially because he was her first and only. He'll think he was so bad she doesn't ever want to try it with another guy. Like he single handedly turned her gay because of how inadequate he was.

It's actually a pretty genius plan. Subtle, but relatively evil. Lots of psychological damage to be done, which is the best kind of damage there is. That kind of damage_ always_ leaves the kind of scarring that doesn't heal. I can't believe Vega thought this up. And though I'm impressed, I'm also still me.

"Find someone else." I say nonchalantly.

"But you're the best actress I know, please Jade?"

Hm, begging and an ego stroke. There aren't too many things that I love, but I do so love to be begged and to have my ego stroked.

It's too bad for Vega that I dislike her even more.

"Get Cat to do it." I roll my eyes and push past her.

She whirls around and grabs my arm. Chick just never learns.

I snatch my arm away from her and nearly remind her not to ever touch me when she interrupts. "Cat?! Jade, please… I'll give you all my allowance, including my lunch money, for a whole month."

I snort.

"Two months," she pleads.

"No way-wait, you mean to tell me, you'll be starving for two months?" I also love bringing a little suffering into Vega's life. Even the small things, like the idea of her going hungry, give me the tingles. And when I think about it, helping Vega can probably help me out too. Maybe Beck thinks the same way Danny Boy does. Maybe if he sees me with Vega…. "Fine, I'll do it."

"You...you _will_? Thank"-

"Wait, there're conditions." I hold a hand up, stopping her from all the stuttering gratitude she was going to assault my ears with.

She goes quiet immediately; eyes focused on my face, giving me all her attention and nodding her head as if she's already agreed to my terms. That's how desperate she is.

"We have to date _way_ longer than one night,"-

Her mouth falls open. "Whoa, _way_ longer? Why way longer? How long is way longer? " she interrupts, clearly heading towards bugged out mode. God, I hate a bugged out Vega.

"A couple months or so, I guess." I shrug nonchalantly, my attempt to calm her down. Maybe if she's sees it's no big deal to me, she'll _believe_ it's no big deal.

"_Months?!"_

Well, that didn't work.

"Why!?" She freaks even more.

"I can't have Beck thinking you're just a rebound," I snap impatiently, though I do realize her getting freaked out is _completely_ understandable. Come to think of it, I'd be a little creeped out if she _wasn't _wazzing out. I mean, it's_ months_…pretending to be a couple…with _Vega_.

God, now _I'm_ having second thoughts.

But I don't change my mind or take it back. This is the best plan. I can feel it. Beck's got to think I've fallen, _really _fallen, for someone else. He's got to feel like he's lost me forever; that I'll never take him back because I'm no longer interested in what he has to offer.

And_ that's_ when I'll take him back, because then, he'll be too afraid to ever let me go again.

"Beck?"

I'm snapped out of my thoughts by Vega's irritating voice. So, I _snap_ at her. "Yeah, Beck, my ex. Remember him?"

Her eyes widen and I can practically see the light bulb click on. "Oh, I get it! You want to make him jealous so that he can realize he doesn't want you to be with anyone else but him and that he doesn't want anyone else but you, right? You're trying to get back together with him!" She beams.

"Very good, Vega." I roll my eyes. Why'd she have to romanticize it like that?

"And um, I'll be helping you do that by pretending to date you for um. …." she gulps. "For _that_ long?"

"Is that a problem?" I scowl.

"No," she smiles widely. "I can do it."

Weirdo.

"Good. You'll give me _three_ months' worth of allowance," I continue as if she never interrupted me in the first place. "_I_ get to dump _you_ in front of everyone, _and_ you can't tell anyone we're just pretending. If I'm gonna play your girlfriend, I'm gonna_ be_ your girlfriend, got it." I negotiate.

She nods her head excitedly.

"And I _mean_ no one." I threaten.

She doesn't hesitate to concede. She screams "Yes!" before jumping up and down and clapping like a monkey.

I stare at her. What's her deal? I just ripped her off. I had to, because I'm me. But that doesn't mean she had to agree to my terms so quickly. I mean, she has to date me _way_ longer than she originally wanted, _and _give me more money, _and_ Iget to humiliate her once it's over and done with. It's not a fair deal for her at all.

"Pinky swear." She grins, holding up her finger expectantly.

"Whyyy-uh?!" I whine. "What's with you and pinky swearing?"

She shrugs, keeping her pinky up for me to take.

I glare at her stupid pinky.

"It's the most solemn vow a person can make. More binding than a legal contract even." She explains.

"Huh?"

"Pinky swearing is the purest promise a person can make." She continues cheerfully. "Don't you remember when you were a kid? If you pinky promised to do something you _had _to do it no matter what because you were too young to break promises, or search for loop holes, or"-

"Whatever!" I exclaim and link my pinky with hers. God, was she ever gonna stop?

Then she launches herself at me; wrapping her skinny arms around my neck and hugging me tight. Like, real tight. Her boobs are squished against mine, and the same thing is happening down below. She's practically dry humping me.

_Push her off, Jade!_

I try to. I move my hands down to her hips and get ready to, but then I hear a loud gasp and suddenly there's someone else with their arms around us. "Me too, me too!" She squeals excitedly and I know right away that the "she" is Cat. Someone I can't exactly kill for hugging me. She _is_ my best friend after all.

But I _can_ push her.

So I do. "Get off of me," I grunt as I shove both ladies so hard they fall down and bump heads like two out of the three stooges.

"Ow!" They cry together.

Cat's landed on top of Vega and the image is more than disturbing because Cat's dress is so short I can see her underwear. You'd think she'd wear boy shorts or even regular shorts under there. But no, she's wearing bright yellow undies with a blue eye on each cheek. Fuckin' SpongeBob.

I shake my head and leave them there in the bathroom.

{~~~O~~~}

As soon as we arrive at Nozu's, I notice one thing immediately. It's crowded as hell, which means it'll take forever to get a damn server.

"That's Danny," Vega whispers nervously as she points out a dark haired guy sitting in one of the booth seats…near the_ restrooms_.

Tacky.

"Smile." I whisper back. "You're happy because you're with me. You don't care about him anymore."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see her take a deep breath and follow my instructions. She's puts a surprisingly genuine looking smile on her face before starting toward the pissy-booth and her ex.

Danny spots Vega quickly and waves her over while trying his best not to gawk at her.

I won't lie. Vega does look nice tonight. She didn't overdo it by wearing a short, tight fitting, dress that just screams 'I'm desperately trying to get my ex to realize what he lost.' No, she's wearing tight blue jeans, brown boots, a beige top, a white jacket and a few feathers in her ears. Sexy/casual…or something.

I, however, didn't dress for the occasion. I'm still wearing what I wore to school today. Black skirt over fishnet tights, black boots, and a really form fitting, cleavage revealing, black top.

And I still look _damn_ good if I do say so myself.

"Hi Danny," Vega says cheerfully once we're standing in front of him.

"Hey Tori." He practically orgasms out before pulling her into a hug; a hug that I can see she _doesn't_ want to be a part of.

I decide right then and there that I don't like him.

I liked him before. I mean, what's not to like? He cheated on Vega; which broke her heart, and _then_ he shattered it into a billion pieces when _he _dumped _her_. Pimpin' right? But I _really _can't stand the sight of him. Don't ask me why cause I don't _know_ why. I'll chalk it up to the great instincts I have when it comes to people.

And my instincts tell me Danny's a wazzbag.

"Okay, that's enough." I pull on Vega's arm so hard both she and her wazzbag of an ex nearly fall into me; but Wazzbag rights himself at the last minute.

It's too bad. I would've loved to break his fall…and other various parts of his body.

Wazzbag sits down, motioning for Vega to do the same. He barely spares me a glance as he does so.

"So, where's your girlfriend?" Vega asks as she scoots over so I can slide in next to her.

"She's in the bathroom. She'll be out in a second." He smiles. "Hey, I thought you were gonna bring a date, Tori. What happened?" he croons almost as if he's sad.

He's not though. I can tell, and he sucks at pretending to be; either that or he's not trying very hard to hide it because he _wants _Vega to be uncomfortable.

I suspect it's the latter and I don't like that at all. That's_ my_ thing. If anyone is going to fuck with Vega, it's gonna be me. I'm her tormentor. She's my victim; mine. He needs to find his own damn punching bag.

"I _am_ her date, Jade." I speak up, offering my hand to him. He doesn't take it at first. He's too busy choking on his own stupidity. I raise an eyebrow at him, daring him not to accept my offered hand. Slowly he puts his hand in mine before giving it a weak pump.

Pathetic.

I squeeze his hand, hard, and smile the whole time he squirms silently in pain. He's got to prove he's a man now that his ex is dating a girl. And men don't cry out when girls hold their hands too tight.

"Jade, you promised to be nice," Vega hisses beside me.

I promised her no such thing, but that's not the point. She's just acting; throwing out a line to get a bit of dialogue going. She's doing much better with this than I thought she would. Actually, she's doing excellent at this if I'm being honest with myself. It makes me feel as if I need to step up my game.

I let go of Wazzbag's hand and he gives it a small shake. I half expect him to tell me that I've got a "strong grip," but he doesn't. It's too bad because I had the perfect rebuttal for him sitting on the tip of my tongue.

"_Jade_…"

I cringe at the sound of Vega's voice before looking at her. I shouldn't have done that. Vega's supposed to be my date. I can't make it obvious that I don't like her. How is it that I'm the one acting like the amateur? I know better than this. I _am _better than this. So, as an attempt to cover up my mistake, I throw out a quick line.

"I'm not gonna apologize." I scoff, making it seem as if that was the reason behind the dirty look I'd just given her.

She shakes her head and sighs dramatically. "You never do."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I scowl at her.

Despite the fact that Vega's supposed to be "chastising" me, she gives me one of her biggest grins before rolling her eyes playfully. "You sounded just like Cat."

My scowl deepens. She's absolutely right, and it's a devastating thought. God help me if any of Cat's other "quirks" rub off on me.

"I'm back!" I'm gonna assume the girl who's just announced her presence like anyone was _actually_ missing her is Wazzbag's girlfriend.

"This is my girlfriend, Melissa Belle." Danny introduces her.

I don't pay her any attention until she says, "They know, I have fourth period with them."

That's when I look up at her and note that she's a pretty redhead that I actually _do _recognize. I'd forgotten her name until now, but I do however remember that she dropped her books in front of me and I had to help her out when I was Tori.

"So _you're_ Danny's girlfriend." Vega smiles politely and gives Melissa a little wave. I on the other hand don't smile _or _wave back at her. It was mighty arrogant of her to assume I knew who she was. I don't like people who think so highly of themselves.

"So Melissa, you share a class with Tori and her girlfriend?" Danny asks. He's trying to be casual as he lets the g-word roll off his tongue, but it's more than obvious he's questioning me and Vega's "relationship;" subtly asking the redhead for confirmation.

Fucker.

"Girlfriend?" Melissa frowns at Vega. And with good reason. She's only ever seen me and Vega argue.

"She's not my girlfriend." I speak up before Vega can mess this up. "We just fu"-

"Jade!" She interrupts…after elbowing me in the rib.

I'm gonna kill her.

"Do that again, Vega…" I threaten.

She rolls her eyes so hard she goes cross-eyed for a second.

"So, how long have you two known each other again?" Redhead questions.

"Oh, I didn't meet her until after I started Hollywood Arts." Vega answers cause I sure as hell wasn't going to. The way Redhead worded that question …it just sounds like a trap.

"But I thought you told me you just started there Monday?" Wazzbag questions Vega suspiciously.

"I did." Vega's got a huge frown on her face, like she's so confused as to why he's taken that tone with her.

"You sure do move fast," he mumbles.

Redhead elbows him, but it's not nearly enough. I have the sudden urge to go across the table and rip his lungs out of his chest.

And I have no idea why.

Sure, he practically called my date a slut, but my date is Vega. I don't like her anyway.

"It's just that you guys act like you've known each other much longer." Redhead cuts in with the most accusatory smile I've ever seen. She's up to something. There's a point she's trying to make.

And here it comes.

"So how long have you two been"-

"Fucking?" I interrupt her. "Since Monday."

"Jade!" Vega's eyes have gone wide and her whole face has just turned chili pepper red.

I don't apologize. I said what I meant, and I meant what I said. I know that it's a lie, but the objective was to shock Redhead so bad that she goes speechless 'cause I'm tired of answering the nosey bitch's questions.

It doesn't work.

"Wait, I thought you _just _broke up with Beck yesterday." Redhead accuses.

"I did."

"So…"

I don't answer. I know she's bright enough to figure out what I was insinuating.

"So you guys were together while you and Beck were together?" Redhead states bluntly, laying it all on the table. I can either tell her she's got it right and get labeled as a cheater, or I can come clean and tell her that me and Vega have never been intimate.

"I already told you, we're not _together_. We just fuck sometimes," is my answer.

"Jade!"

"Vega!" I mock her.

She glares at me, her jaw working from side to side. She's good and pissed.

I stare back at her, an innocent smile on my face.

"So how come you call her by her last name?" Wazzbag asks.

"Because I hate Tori. It's whiney and annoying." I answer impatiently through clenched teeth. I just want to punch him in the gut. Like his girlfriend, his tone had been very accusatory. What is it with him? No, what is it with _them_? What do I gotta do to convince them that me and Vega are a thing? Fuck her in front of them?

"But it's my name!" Vega pouts back at me, pulling me back into the current conversation.

"So's Vega. It's not that good of a name either but I like it a thousand times more than…that other one." I shudder, as if thinking about her first name can give me nightmares. And it kinda does. I'm forever scarred by all that stuff Tori made me do Tuesday. I mean, I had to pick up the brats from school yesterday because of Tori.

"Now, do you two got any more stupid questions." I snap at Wazzbag and Redhead.

"Be nice…" Vega warns.

"I can't. I don't like stupid questions… or people."

"You said you'd try." Vega improvs. "You said you'd be nice to him."

"I did try." I follow easily.

"You call that trying?" she scoffs. "You could at least smile at him. You haven't smiled at him _once_. How is _that _trying?"

It's not.

"Well, I don't like him, babe." I shrug nonchalantly.

"Jade!" Vega makes a face, like she's shocked by my lack of manners.

"What?" I give her a look that suggests she shouldn't be shocked at all. Then I turn away from her and face Wazzbag. "I don't like you," I tell him straight up.

He gaps at me, and I stare him down with as much hatred as I can muster up, which takes absolutely no effort on my part.

He gulps, loudly.

Punk.

"If I would've known you were going to be like this, I would've come by myself," she crosses her arms over her chest.

"No, you wouldn't have." I rebuttal immediately, going into jealous girlfriend mode.

"And why not?"

"Because I wouldn't have let you."

"_Let _me? You wouldn't have _let _me? What do you care anyway? You're not my girlfriend, remember?"

Damn she's good.

But I can do better.

"Fine." I shrug.

"Fine what?"

"You're my girlfriend."

"Really?" She grins at me, getting all excited. I swear she's about to hug me, but I stop her.

"Really, so get your wallet ready cause you're paying for my food." I tell her.

"What? Why?"

"That's what happens when a _couple_ goes on a date. One pays. And since you want to be my girlfriend so bad, then you should pay."

She shakes her head. "No, you should pay."

"Why?"

"The boyfriend pays, and you're like the dude."

I arch an eyebrow at her. "How the hell do you figure that?"

"Because when we…" She pauses there, giving Redhead and Wazzbag a quick glance before leaning in to whisper in my ear. "Because you're always on top."

I frown back at her. What's the point of saying a juicy line like that if no one's gonna hear it?

The answer comes to me immediately. There_ is _no point. She wants _m_e to mention it. If Vega were to say that out loud, she would've broken character since she's been so conservative and I've been the blunt and vulgar one.

And here's some more vulgar. "Just because I'm always on top doesn't make me the dude. I bet Danny lets his girl ride all the time." I wink at Wazzbag.

Vega gasps beside me but I ignore her in favor of Wazzbag and Redhead. I thought Vega was red; they're practically purple compared to her.

I smile brilliantly; _finally_ they've shut the hell up.

"Besides, I don't like to be on the bottom." I continue, smiling even wider as the couple across from us try to compose themselves.

"Is there anything you _do_ like?" Vega scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest and fixing me with a rather intimidating glare. Well, it doesn't scare _me_. In fact, I kinda like that look on her. It's like there's a fire dancing about those brown irises of hers.

And I love to play with fire. Literally and figuratively.

I lean in close to her, but I make sure I speak loud enough for Wazzbag and Redhead to hear. "I like your boobs." I tell her as grab her hands, manually unfolding her arms and exposing her previously hidden chest.

She gasps and I realize my mistake immediately. Vega's still an amateur; so, before she can say anything stupid and blow our cover I shut her up the best way I know how at the moment. I lean in even closer to her and press my lips to hers.

I expect her to pull away, so I do a little preventive action and firmly cup both cheeks in my hands so that she can't. Not that it's necessary. Vega catches on rather quickly. There's a slight stiffening of her spine at first, but she doesn't pull away from me. In fact, not even a second later she's leaning in closer and kissing me back. Both her hands go to my waist and she tugs on me, trying to pull me even closer.

Whoa daddy.

Vega's not half bad at this.

I start to pull back after that disturbing thought, but she doesn't seem to want to let go.

"Wait, one more." She whispers.

"You're a greedy little thing aren't you?" I tease. She nods her head and puckers her lips at me.

I consider her for a second before giving her a smirk. "Beg me," I say.

She rolls her eyes and tries to kiss me anyway, but a move my head out of reach.

"Please" she relents.

I kiss her forehead.

She shakes her head at me and tries to catch my lips with hers.

I dodge her and kiss her cheek.

"_Jade_," she whines exasperatedly, and I grin at her before pecking the tip of her nose.

She sighs and goes utterly still. I don't get what's going on until she starts staring at my lips.

That's when it dawns on me. She's being a good girl. She's waiting for _me_ to come to _her_ this time.

I grab her chin and lean in, my lips hovering over hers. Still she doesn't move a muscle.

Good girl.

I'm about to reward her with a kiss when I'm interrupted by a cough so fake and exaggeratedly deep that I know it's coming from Wazzbag. _Someone's_ trying to sound like a man.

I ignore him, attempting to kiss Vega anyway, but she jumps and pulls back with a gasp; like she's forgotten we're not alone Then she straightens up and gives Wazzbag her attention.

I get pissed off. Not the acting kind, the real kind. She's supposed to be dating_ me_. Just because her ex wants some attention she's willing to stop kissing me to give it to him?

It's irrational for me to get so pissed. I know it is. I mean, I _really _don't like Vega, but that's not the point! If a guy…or a girl is dating me, then he (or she) is dating _me. _ I come first… whether we're pretending or not.

"Hey," I grab Vega's chin and tug on her until she's facing me again. "Don't you know how this works? I told you what I like. Do you see anything that _you_ like?"

She stares at me for a few seconds, this funny look passing over her face. I'm not so sure what it means but she needs to stop it. She needs to focus. We've got a scene to finish.

"Babe?" I call softly before snapping my fingers in front of her face to get her attention. Vega blinks quickly, seemingly coming out of a trance of sorts. Her cheeks go scarlet and she begins to bite her bottom lip…seductively.

Unconsciously, I find myself mirroring her actions but I stop as soon as I realize it.

I'm straight. I don't like girls _that_ way; and I'm pretty sure I hate Vega with about five passions, but day-umn! That's a good look on her. What the hell was she thinking about anyway? It _had_ to be dirty.

I smile mischievously as I gently let my fingers fall away from Vega's chin. My index lingers a little and I decide not to let it break contact with her skin. I move it downward slowly, barely touching her as I graze the underside of her chin, moving down over her throat, down towards her collar bone, and further down still until my fingertip is resting lightly on the swell of that piece of anatomy of hers that I claimed to like.

"Well, you gonna tell me what you like or not?" I ask, encouraging her to come up with something. And she better make it fast…and good; although there's no way she can top my "boob" response…not unless she's brave.

But Vega is brave, to a certain degree. I've forgotten about that until now. She's just placed her hand firmly on my thigh, _high_ up on my thigh. Then she gives my lap a brief but suggestive glance.

I raise an eyebrow and give her a little smirk. She's kissed me and made a few suggestive comments so far on this double date, but _that_ was bold as hell.

I lean in close to her. "Say it," I dare, adding a natural husk to my voice. We're probably gonna kiss again after her answer and I have to look like not only do I know it's coming, but I _want_ it to happen.

She leans in close too, her cheek pressed against my cheek, her lips near my ear. She's on the outside, facing Danny, so he'll be able to read her lips if she whispers too low for him to hear. But she doesn't whisper. She speaks loud and clear. Wazzbag and Redhead can easily hear every word. "You _know_ what I like," she practically purrs against my ear.

"Shit!" I shudder. Literally and visibly. If it had been my choice, I wouldn't have reacted at all. But my body just did it without my permission.

What the chiz was that?

Another deep cough from Wazzbag and I remember where I am.

"I gotta use the bathroom. Wanna come?" I announce so fast it was barely English.

Wazzbag chokes on his spit, and only after _that_ do I realize the unintentional innuendo I'd made. I don't make the slightest effort to take it back or convince him that I didn't mean it like _that_. Why? Because now I got an idea.

"Okay." Vega agrees, getting up and beginning to follow me. "Excuse us, guys."

The server finally freakin' arrives but I keep pulling Vega towards the bathroom. They can wait.

"Wait, what about your food, aren't you going to order?" Wazzbag ask gesturing toward the server, but anybody with half a brain can see that he's desperately trying to keep me and Vega from going to the bathroom together.

I glare at him and begin to reach toward my waist, but Vega grabs my hand to stop me. She knows that's where my scissors are tonight, tucked into the waist of my skirt. Honestly, she really didn't have to stop me. I wasn't gonna _use_ them on him. I was just gonna scare him a bit for being a cock blocking little bitch.

"Just order for me. You know what I like, Danny."

I turn away from Wazzbag and aim my glare at my "girlfriend." "Vega..."

She smiles innocently. "He knows what I like when it comes to food, Jade. Now come on. I gotta wazz."

I glower at Wazzbag then at Redhead. If she'd take three seconds to mind her own damn business, she would've realized her boyfriend had been eye-fucking my girlfriend since we got here.

"Come _on_!" Vega exclaims while grabbing my hand and pulling me into the bathroom.

I let her drag me away; but I also make sure to keep giving Wazzbag the death glare the whole time.

As soon as the bathroom door's shut behind us, Vega starts talking. "Oh my gosh did you see his fa-ow!"

I slam her against the door midsentence and lock it.

"What the chiz was that for?!"

I don't answer. I just run my fingers roughly through her hair, messing up her neat curls.

"Hay, Jade!" She pushes me.

I push her back. Hard. She ends up right where I had her before. Up against the door with my fingers jammed in her hair. "You need to look mussed up." I explain to the idiot.

"What? Why do I need to look mussed up?" She's confused, but she's stopped trying to get away. She just stands there and wines as I pull and yank on her hair.

Vega would be no fun in bed. Not if she can't handle a little hair pulling.

"What do you think _they_ think we're doing in here?" I avert my eyes, not wanting to actually look at her as I explain the obvious. And then there _is _the fact that I'd just inadvertently imagined what she would be like in bed.

"Oh."

Thank God she doesn't say anything more.

I work on her for a little while longer, pulling and tugging on her clothes to make it look like I'd gotten in there.

Once her clothes are thoroughly disheveled, I take a deep breath and do it. And by "it," I mean I sink my teeth into her bottom lip.

It's not a kiss. I just need to swell her lips up a bit before going back out there to Wazzbag and Redhead.

Vega yelps and grabs onto my waist. I'm pretty sure it's just for support, just so she can have something to hold onto while she's hurting, but it feels too intimate for me. I brush her hands away and switch, taking her top lip in between my teeth.

She cries out again. Louder this time, and again she braces her hands against my waist; but she doesn't try to push me away.

This time I don't slap her hands away. For being such a compliant big girl about all this, I let her hold onto me. It's the least I can do.

Great, now I'm going soft.

I pull back once I feel as though her lips should be good and swollen and inspect them. I turn her head this way and that as I scrutinize them, adding a little nip here and there until I'm satisfied. I try to look as methodical as a doctor checking a kid's heart with his stethoscope as I'm doing it because I can feel Vega watching me. Well, she's not consistently watching me. She mostly has her eyes squeezed shut; but every once in a while she cracks one of 'em for just a tiny peek.

It's making me uncomfortable. The way she's just standing there, letting me do this to her. It's…weird. It's like she trusts me or something.

"Okay, done." I announce once I'm satisfied with the way she looks.

And Vega looks as if she's been _thoroughly_ fucked if I do say so myself.

I smile at my handiwork, before walking over to the sink and hopping up on the counter.

Vega comes toward me and checks herself out in the mirror. Her eyes widen, which makes me smirk. "I look like…I look like…"-

"Like Mama took care of business." I point to myself and wink at her. My god, where the hell did that come from?

Thankfully, she doesn't seem to dwell on my words. She just nods and keeps looking at herself in the mirror. She touches her hair, her clothes, and then she touches her lips. That makes her wince. I can't even call her a baby for that one. They're so swollen they almost look like she's had a mild allergic reaction to something.

"Wait, what about you?" she asks suddenly.

"What about me what?"

"Don't you need to look mussed up too?"

I roll my eyes and pull out my scissors. "No."

"Why not?"

"Cause I'm me and you're you." I shrug nonchalantly as I begin to snip at the ends of my green extensions.

"Are you saying I'm not aggressive?"

I snort. "No, _princess_, I"-

"I can be aggressive too!" she interrupts.

"I'm sure you can, baby." I patronize as I reach over and pat her head. I'm not even talking to her as if she's a child. I'm talking to her like she's one of those dumb little lapdogs with the microscopic brains.

Then she growls, like a slightly bigger dog, before lunging at me.

My eyes go wide and I drop my scissors. I'm in shock. That's the _only_ reason why she's able to grab me by the waist, yank me off the sink, and then back me up until my lower back crashes against the hard granite surface.

Shit! That hurt like a bitch. And just like that, I'm no longer in shock. I'm ready to kill; but before I can do anything to hurt her, she bites me. Right on my neck, barely an inch above my shoulder.

"Vega!" I squeal. Like a fucking girl. I can't believe she's biting me…again. And there's a very small part of me that likes it. It has nothing to do with Vega. I've always liked being bitten. It hurts, but in this weirdly intense good way.

I bite my lip to keep from moaning and go completely still when Vega grabs a hold of my waist with both hands. She pulls me closer, anchoring me so that she's got better access to my flesh.

I'd push her off, but she's got a good grip on my neck. If I shove her away from me, she'll take a chunk of me with her. Now_ that_ would _not_ feel good. I'm not that much of a freak.

Then her hands start to roam, much like the way mine did over her body while I was making her look like she'd really been getting it on in the bathroom. At first, I nearly smack them away so that I can do it myself, but I change my mind. I don't want to seem as though I'm panicking.

That's not me. So I exhale impatiently as if I'm bored and lean back a little, bracing my hands against the sink behind me for support. _This_ is me.

She tugs my shirt up a bit, untucking it from my skirt. Her fingers gently caress the newly exposed skin and that coupled with the constant assault on my neck alone is enough to make me wet.

_Control, Jade. Get it together. _I inwardly scold myself.

I close my eyes and think about something else. I think about how this isn't supposed to feel good; mainly because I don't like her and she doesn't like me. She's just bruising me so that she can make her ex jealous, and I'm gonna use her the same way.

She runs her hands through my hair, just as roughly as I did hers and she does a little more tugging on my clothes before popping her head off my neck and announcing that she's done.

"Already?" I frown.

She frowns back.

_Did I just say that? Blank face Jade. Don't react. _

I turn around quickly and pretend to inspect myself in the mirror. Good thing about that move is… I don't have to pretend too long before I'm actually inspecting myself in the mirror.

"So, how's it look?" Vega asks. I can hear the pride in her voice and I just know she's smiling widely. I wanna wipe that satisfied look off her face. I mean, she deserves to wear it because I look just as well fucked as she does, but I like for my Vegas to be unhappy.

"You need to do this part again," I tell her in a bored voice, as I point to my neck.

"What? What's wrong with it?"

"It needs to be darker, Vega. If you're gonna mark me you need to make sure people can see it from a mile away. Otherwise what's the point?" I explain as if she's an idiot, when the truth is, she did just fine.

"Fine!" she relents. "Turn around."

I turn around, and as nonchalantly as I can I expose my neck to her. She doesn't even hesitate. She places both hands on my shoulder and goes for it.

I have to bite my lip to keep from screaming because unfortunately for me, Vega takes direction a little _too _well. She's biting me so much harder than before and it doesn't feel good at all, not like it did before.

After a few more seconds, my eyes begin to water. God, when is she gonna stop? This really, really, hurts and I've got too much damn pride to tell her to take it easy, to be a little gentler, or to just fucking stop altogether. So, I grab onto her waist and squeeze really hard. I gotta hold onto _something_.

Vega pulls back and looks into my face. "You okay?"

Ugh, spare me the concerned doe eyes please. "I'm fine. I can handle it." I grunt, letting her know to get back to work.

She hesitates, and I raise my eyebrows. "Come on!" I urge her.

I regret it immediately. I could've told her that what she's done so far is enough; that we we're done. But no, I just have to be the badass.

She rolls her eyes at me and dips her head back into the curve of my neck. I tense up, bracing myself for the pain that's sure to come. I don't mean to. It just happens.

She sighs and lifts her head up. "We can stop, Jade. I think it's dark enough."

Her words are laced with pity and it pisses me off even more. I don't want Vega doing any favors for me. "I said, it's fine!" I hiss.

"It's not fine. It hurts. I can tell."

"You're _biting_ me. Of course it hurts!"

"Well, I don't want to hurt you."

"Well, I want you to!" I yell back, which is a total lie; but there's a look in her eyes like she knows I didn't mean it. She cocks her head to the side; like she's studying me and I immediately narrow my eyes in suspicion.

What the hell is she up to?

"Okay, fine I'll do it; but only if we can do it my way."

I'm tempted to tell her no deal, but think better of it. Agreeing with her will be the fastest way to get this over and done with.

"Fine."

She holds up _both_ her pinkies and I think I'm gonna be sick. A double pinky promise? Who fucking _does _that?

Fuckin Vega. That's who.

I sigh deeply and link both of my little fingers with hers, but not before telling her how incredibly stupid this is. She ignores me and brings my hands up, wrapping them around her neck. Then she lets her hands fall to my waist.

When her lips touch my neck, I make a conscious effort not to flinch. I don't want Vega to have another wazzfit over hurting me again.

But she doesn't bite me. She kisses my bruised neck instead.

"What are you doing?" I jerk back.

"My way, you promised."

"Yeah but that was before I knew you were gonna"-

"My. Way. Jade." She cuts me off.

_You did pinky promise._

I roll my eyes and give Vega my neck. Fucking Tori's back.

"I'm sorry for hurting you." Vega whispers before kissing the bruise again.

"It's fine, just do it." I tell her. My voice is harsh, but I actually feel so much better for some reason.

She presses her teeth against my skin but still doesn't bite, applying just a little bit of pressure before kissing me.

My eyes flutter shut and I find myself relaxing a bit.

Suddenly there's a slight pinching sensation, and I know she's nipped me. I jump, but more from surprise than pain.

Then she starts the kissing again until I've relaxed. When she nips me this time, I'm ready for it. I don't jump, flinch, or wince. I welcome it… because I want it.

Bad.

She kisses me twice more and begins to rub my back before using her teeth the way she did before, the way that hurt. And it still hurts, but not in a bad way. I remember those kisses and I concentrate on her hands gently rubbing my back, and it's not bad at all.

"What about now?" she asks a minute later.

My eyes snap open. Jeez did that_ really _just happen?!

What. The. Fuck.

I turn away from her and look in the mirror. Ouch! That's one loud ass hicky, but I'm careful with my facial expressions. I make sure the surprise doesn't register at all.

"Better." I say calmly before taking her hand in mine. "Come on, let's go."

I hold her hand all the way until we're sitting in front of Wazzbag and Redhead. Damn, our food's not here; which means more idle chitchat.

I can feel Wazzbag staring at us, but I ignore him, making a big show of trying to hide my hicky with my hair and fixing my clothes.

Vega should've let me threaten him with my scissors when I… I frown and abruptly go still. My scissors! I left my scissors in the bathroom.

Everyone looks at me, but only Vega speaks. "Jade, what's wrong?"

"Uh, babe, I think I left my underwear in the bathroom," I make up. Hey, I wasn't gonna say scissors, and everybody already thinks me and Vega did the do. It's the best I could come up with on the spot and I'm really proud of it. I casually addressed our sexual tryst in the bathroom and made it seem like a normal affair.

Wazzbag chokes.

Redhead chokes.

Vega chuckles. I'm actually really surprised she didn't choke too.

"You're just now noticing you don't have them on?" she asks me.

"Shut up. I'll be right back."

She tugs on my wrist, hard, and I fall back into my seat next to her. What the hell?

"You didn't leave them," she explains.

"What?"

"I got em." She winks.

Wazzbag and his girlfriend aren't just blatantly staring anymore; their jaws are flapping as well. I nearly yell at them but they get saved when our server sets down platters of sushi in front of our faces.

"Thank you." Vega tells the server.

Then she looks at me and raises her eyebrows.

She wants me to thank the server as well. "Thanks," I mumble. And for some reason it makes Vega smile.

I scowl back at her.

She kisses my lips.

"Don't be such a grouch. It's your own fault you forgot your panties."

I scowl even more. I hate that word and she knows it. But more than that, I'm left wondering if she's actually pretending to have my underwear just to play along and drive Wazzbag crazy, or does know that I'm talking about my scissors?

I can only think of one way to find out.

"Lemme see." I command, making my voice go low and sensual. I still have a part to play.

"How about…you feel instead." She raises an eyebrow at me, and instantly I feel as though I've been challenged.

Jade West doesn't back down from any challenges. Although I should back down from this one. If I dig around in Vega's pants and my scissors aren't in there….

With much more confidence than I feel, I put my hand on Vega's waist. Wazzbag and Redhead can't see that I'm not really doing anything sexual to her. They can only see that I'm looking down at Vega's pants and that my hands are probably moving around down there.

I smile when I feel the handle. She _wa_s talking about my scissors.

"Find what you were looking for?" she smirks.

"Yeah, now let's go back to the bathroom so you can give 'em back."

"Later." She winks just before stuffing her face with raw fish.

Wazzbag chokes again.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note: **I can't believe how many reviews I got! Thank you guys so much! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I'm feeling a little iffy about it, but I'm still hoping you guys like it.

And thank you **SKRowling **for helping me with my Spanish…otra vez;)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Victorious. And some of the dialogue in this chapter came from season 3's "Tori and Jade's Playdate."

{~~~TORI~~~}

My weekend was the best, and I can't help the smile that's permanently attached to my lips. Sure, it's Monday and all the other students here at Hollywood Arts are still grumpy 'cause they've just been ripped out of weekend mode; but I feel rejuvenated enough for _all _of us.

Friday night was AWESOME! Even though I had to kiss Jade…a lot, it was totally worth it to see Danny's face. He couldn't believe I was dating a girl.

Saturday and Sunday he left me a million texts, all of them along the lines of: "There's no way you're into girls." "I know you." and "How much did you pay that girl to date you?"

I ignored most of them, only replying to a couple to let him know that I was too busy with my girlfriend to chat with him; but he just would _not_ let it go. He texted even _more_, telling me how dumb I was being and how he didn't believe I was really gay.

So what if he's right? He doesn't know that. He's just in denial. I know he believes Jade's my real girlfriend because the woman put on one heck of a show. Even_ I_ would've believed she liked me if I didn't know any better.

"What's so funny, Tori?" I don't have to peek over my locker to know that was André. "You know it's a sin to be that happy on a Monday, right?"

The cheesy smile doesn't go anywhere as I shrug my shoulders and dump everything into my locker. Next period is Sikowitz. No text books needed there.

"Hey, why's Tori so happy?" And that was Beck. I can't help it. I duck a little, avoiding eye contact with him. He's been very nice to me since I got here. I'd even say we're friends. And now I kinda feel like I broke the "bro code" or whatever because Jade's his ex. I realize me and Jade are just _pretending_ to date, but _he's_ not gonna know that. I promised Jade I wouldn't tell anyone we're faking, so…I gotta talk to Beck. Let 'em know I'm "dating" his ex.

But I can't even look him in the eyes! Aw man, what did I get myself into?

_Okay, it's easy Tori. Just pull Beck aside and tell him you gotta tell him something important. Then go from there._

I try to. I really do, but I just end up looking in the complete opposite direction of him. And as a result, I spot Jade. She's heading my way, but she's not really paying much attention to where she's going. She's got a coffee in one hand, her phone in the other, and whatever's on her phone has a_ hundred_ percent of her attention.

Gosh I hope she doesn't run into anything. Even if she's rude and a total gank, I don't want anything bad to happen to her.

I kinda like her, in this weird love/hate/more hate, kind of way.

"Good morning, Jade." I say cheerfully, mostly to get her to look up and regard her surroundings, if only for a few seconds.

She scowls but she doesn't look up from her phone. I think she's doing it on purpose, just to ignore Beck. I doubt she wants to see him. They _did_ just break up last Thursday.

Then, just before she passes by me, she makes eye contact. "I hate mornings, babe," she tells me as if I should already know this before kissing me…right on the mouth… right in front of everybody…in front of _everybody_! Then she walks away. Just like that. She's heading for Sikowitz's class and leaving me here with Beck and André.

Jammit!

This is so awkward! Whaddo I do? Whaddo I do? Whaddo I do!?

_Class, go to class, muevete Tori!_

I don't even spare Beck or André a glance before quickly following behind Jade.

Jade takes her normal seat in the back row, so taking my queue from her, I sit in my normal seat in the front of class.

I wish I would've sat in the back. André and Beck are up front with me and they keep giving me these weird looks while I pointedly try to ignore them. To try and act like nothing weird is going on…which is really, really hard.

Why did Jade kiss me? Well, I know _why_ she kissed me. I'm paying her to be my pretend girlfriend. But why did she kiss me like _that_? She didn't even check for Beck's reaction after our kiss, and I know she wanted to get a rise out of him. And since that's what she wanted, why didn't the kiss feel like one of those… "show boating" type kisses? Why wasn't it all exaggerated, and unnecessarily long, just to make him uncomfortable? Why was it this quick little peck as if she didn't have to explain herself to anyone? As if we'd been doing this forever, as if we'd been dating for years and it was just…

I groan loudly as Jade's words come rushing back to me; the words she said when I first struck this deal with her. '_If I'm gonna play your girlfriend, I'm gonna __**be**__ your girlfriend_.'

"Tori?"

That's why the kiss felt so natural.

"Tori."

She was acting like she_ is_ my girlfriend, not like she's being _paid _to _pretend_ to be my girlfriend and trying to make Beck jealous in the process.

"Tori."

Unlike what I did on Friday. I _thought_ I did good, but now that I think about it…

"Tor-eee."

Everything I did, I did to make Danny uncomfortable. And it worked. And the more I could see it working, the bolder I got.

I wasn't myself.

"_Tori."_

Jade, on the other hand, didn't change her personality, or become a "character," for our date. She was just Jade…on a date with me.

"_Tori!"_

Dang it, she's good!

"AY, TORI!"

"What, André!" I snap. Okay, maybe subconsciously I realized he'd been calling me for a while, but on the surface it feels like he just suddenly yelled out my name, and quite frankly it scared the fudge out of me!

André points toward the front of the class where Sikowitz is sitting cross-legged on the floor and focusing all of his attention on me.

"Something you'd like to share with the class, Toro?" He asks before taking a sip of coconut juice.

I glance around the classroom without really making eye contact with anyone. I'm still able to see the way Beck and André are_ still _staring at me with those _looks_. I notice the way Melissa's looking from Jade to me then back to Jade, repeatedly. And Jade, she's got this huge smirk on her face as she stares at me.

I make eye contact with her and she licks her lips. My eyes widen and my face goes red. My dang teenage hormones are going wonky on me because now I'm remembering how those lips felt against mine.

Dime, how is it _possible_ for a psychopath like her to have such soft lips?

"Well?" Sikowitz prompts.

I turn my attention back to the front of the classroom shaking my head, as well as my wayward thoughts, away.

Nope. There's definitely nothing I'd like to share with the class.

"Good! Because I got something to share with all of you. Knowledge!" Sikowitz claps loudly before getting up and going to the board.

Once his back is to us, I get a tap on my shoulder. I frown when I turn around. I don't know this classmate by name, but he's handing me a note. I'm pretty sure it came from Jade because he's staring at her, not me. _And _his hand is shaking.

I roll my eyes and take the piece of paper. She probably threatened to castrate him if he read it.

When I open the note, I gasp loudly and I can feel my face heat up….again! I whip my head around and gape at Jade. She's plays innocent, widening her eyes just a little as if she's asking me what she could have possibly done to warrant such a look from me.

"Tori, it seems you _do _have something to share with the class." Sikowitz's voice is bursting with giddy excitement. It startles me because it's so loud and close.

When I turn around in my seat, I gasp again. He's standing right in front of me!

How'd he do that? Wasn't he _just _at the board?

Sikowitz reaches out and slightly tugs on the note in my hand. I react without thinking. I snatch the paper out of his grasp and stuff it in my mouth.

There's no way I can let him see _that_! Ni lo diga!

"Spit it out." He coaxes, poking dimples into my cheeks with his index fingers.

I shake my head and attempt to swallow it. I say attempt because it doesn't work out for me so good.

Stupid thing goes down the wrong pipe.

I start choking; but the note doesn't come up or go down. There's a paperjam in my esophagus.

I start to panic because I can't breathe. I'm trying to get air into my lungs but there's too much blockage. I think I just might die. Oh God, what if I do die!? I'll probably end up being one of those idiots on A Thousand Ways to Die; all because I swallowed a dirty note with an even dirtier picture on it!

For some reason, the thought makes me panic even more. That's_not_ how I want to get on TV!

"Jesus Vega!" I hear Jade yell. There's nothing but pure panic in her tone. I'd think it was weird any other day because she hates me; but as I'm supposed to be her girlfriend, I expect her to show a bit of concern for me. Even if she _is_ pretending.

Suddenly I'm slapped on the back _extremely_ hard. I'm pretty sure it was to help me stop coughing but I think I'd rather keep choking on this dirty note.

"Breathe!" Jade grunts, then I get hit again.

It's Jade who's hitting me.

Of course it's her. Everyone knows you're supposed to_ pat_ a cougher on the back, not slap the crap out of them. I'm sure Jade knows this too, she just likes hurting people. Me especially.

She's such a freak.

I hold a hand up, trying to get her to stop, but I'm still kinda choking.

The paper's almost down though.

I think I'm gonna be okay.

"Next time just soak it, idiot. People can't read soggy paper." She tells me before slapping me again.

OW!

"I'm….good." I wheeze, looking up at her. She's got her hand reared back, ready to strike again.

Please don't do it, I silently beg with my eyes.

"Sure about that, Vega?" she questions.

I nod my head vigorously.

"Maybe she should go see the nurse." André suggests.

"I'll take her," Beck offers…like I'm a kindergartener.

"Alright," Sikowitz concedes.

"She's fine." Jade sends a quick glare her ex's way before turning back to me. "Aren't you?"

A very wet and painful cough is my response.

I get another slap to the back for that one. It's a bit harder than the other slaps so I take it as a warning.

"Yeah…I'm fine." I tell Sikowitz.

"Excellent!" he exclaims before continuing on with the lesson. "Now, today you will learn about the importance…"

I cough again, and flinch badly. Jade's still standing next to me. I know she's going to hit me.

"Get up." She commands. I'm so relieved she kept her hands to herself that I do as I'm told immediately.

I cough a little more and flinch again, waiting for her to hit me. But she doesn't. She turns my chair around so that the back of it is facing the front of the class.

"Sit." she tells me.

In order to sit, and still face the front of the class, I've got to straddle my chair…so I do that, albeit a bit hesitantly. It feels weird.

Thank God I'm not wearing a skirt.

"Switch me seats." Jade tells the boy who's sitting behind me. He hesitates. "Now!"

I roll my eyes. She could've at least said please.

"Say," I cough, "please."

"Shut up, Vega."

Or not.

The boy scrambles out of his chair and Jade takes his place.

"_Jade,_ why'd you switch seats with the shrugger?" Sikowitz sings, finally acknowledging the small disturbance in his class.

Huh? _Shrugger_? What the heck is a shrugger?

"Because I want to slap Vega on the back whenever she coughs." Jade answers immediately.

I groan. That's why she turned my seat around. So that the back of my chair isn't in her way and she's got full access to my back.

Dang it!

"Good idea." Sikowitz nods absently before going back to the lesson and leaving me at the mercy of Jade West.

I frown up at him. He's perhaps the worst teacher when it comes to our safety. He's completely satisfied with Jade's answer, accepting it as truth. And why not, more than likely it _is _the truth. But I don't think that's the normal response a normal teacher is supposed to have to an answer like that. I think a normal teacher is supposed to tell Jade that I'm fine and that it won't be necessary to continue slapping me.

I cough, and Jade slaps my back. Like she said she would.

It hurt. Like I knew it would.

This is gonna be the longest forty-five minutes of my life. My throat and chest feel itchy, an indication that I'm gonna cough a billion more times before class is over. Which means Jade is gonna slap me a billion more times.

I don't want to get slapped a billion more times.

So, when the next cough comes, I hold it in the best way I can. I clamp my mouth shut and refuse to let it out.

Not such a smart idea. It only makes my cough worse, like three times worse.

"Just let it out," Jade tells me before slapping me again. This time it doesn't hurt. Not really. It's kinda loud, making it _sound_ like it was painful, but that's about it.

I nod my head and cough again, doing as I was instructed and "letting it out." Of course she slaps me again, but it seems to me that her slaps are gradually getting softer. They're becoming "pats."

I press my lips together, fighting the urge to smile. If I seem happy, Jade will probably think she's being too nice and start slapping me hard again.

She's evil like that.

But Jade takes the way I've pressed tightly pressed my lips together the wrong way. She thinks I'm trying to hold in another cough. And with good reason, because I start coughing again. Way worse than the first time I tried to hold my cough.

Jade doesn't hit me this time. Instead, she roughly yanks her chair up, making me jerk a little when the front of her chair bumps into the back of mine. Well technically it's the front of my seat since my chair is turned backwards. But whatever.

"Scoot back some." She tells me.

I turn a little just in time to see Jade scoot up to the edge of her seat, her legs on either side of her chair now that there's no room for her to put them in front of it.

If I scoot back too far, I'll basically be sitting in her lap.

A classroom is not really the place for that. So, I scoot back just a little, careful not to let any part of my rump touch any part of _her_.

She smacks her teeth, a noise associated with a person who's lost their patience. And her next action shows just how much of her patience she's lost. She grabs me by the waist and roughly pulls me toward her.

I cough again, but what I_ meant_ to do was gasp. Loudly. Not only did she startle the chiz out of me when she did that, but hello! Her thighs are encasing my thighs! Her boobs are on my back! My butt is on her…girl-part!

My head snaps around to the front and I look up at my teacher. I just know he's gonna point out how inappropriate our seating arrangement has become.

Sikowitz isn't even paying attention to us. It's a small relief, but then there's still the dropped jaw coming from André, the raised eyebrows coming from Beck; and Rex is checking his pants…and Robbie's not even looking our way!

So disturbing.

"Relax and lean forward." Jade whispers in my ear.

I do as I'm told, knowing that if I make a fuss I'll be drawing more attention to myself than I've already got. I lean forward, folding my arms over the back of my chair and resting my chin on my forearm.

Jade places both of her hands on my back and waits for me to cough again.

She doesn't have to wait long. And when she hits me this time, it's undeniably a pat. The heel of her palm never leaves my back; which means she can't get enough momentum to _make_ the slap hurt.

I'm so relieved by this that I relax _all_ the way. I can _finally_ focus on Sikowitz's lesson.

Mind you, I know how this looks. I'm aware of the fact that my butt is still on Jade's girl-part. I am. But this _feels_ innocent, not sexual. It feels like I'm sitting in front of a really close friend and she's patting me on my back whenever I cough.

That's all.

I tune into Sikowitz for the first time today, completely able to follow despite having missed half the lecture. He's talking about the importance of dedication when becoming an actor.

I cough again, but don't flinch. I know Jade's not going to hurt me. In fact, I barely even register getting pat on the back. I'm super immersed in the lesson.

"I once had to do a show where I played a man in great pain." Sikowitz begins and I know he's about to give us an example of the kind of "dedication" he's teaching us about. "So to prepare…I threw myself down a flight of stairs."

"Ouch." I wince. Now that's dedication.

"You wouldn't believe how many times I hit my head."

I laugh at him; but then suddenly it clicks, _really_ clicks. _I_ have a part to play. I have to play Jade's girlfriend. So far I've been improvising and getting lucky here and there. I never really had a _plan_.

Now I know what I have to do.

I have to metaphorically throw myself down a flight of stairs. I've got to become attracted to Jade. I have to _like_ her, like her. For real.

I can do that. I think.

Jade drops her hand away from my back and it casually rest on the front of my jeans. Subconsciously, I feel that, but I'm not really paying much attention. The wheels in my head are turning.

Jade bends over to the side, pressing her hand flat against me. Again, I feel that, but it's not like she's groping me on purpose. Well she kinda is, but I know she's just using me as an anchor so that she can rifle through her bag. That fact is proven when her hand goes right back to its previous position on my back once she's sitting upright again.

So again, there's no reaction from me. I've got bigger things to think about. Like how the heck I'm supposed to find something attractive about the evilness that is Jade. And the fact that she's pretty doesn't count. I'm not that shallow. At least I'd like to think I'm not; but I won't lie. It does help; the fact that Jade's pretty. She's got these piercing blue eyes that can stop any guy in his tracks, or girl I guess. Since, I'm a girl.

I hear the distinctive sound of scissors opening and closing and _still_ it's not enough to get me to give Jade my attention. Absentmindedly, I move my hair, sweeping it over and letting it fall over my left shoulder, just in case she's bored and has nothing to cut. She chuckles and drops a kiss on my shoulder. I know Sikowitz didn't see it, I was looking right at him, but I turn in my seat and send her a warning glare anyway.

She smirks at me. Then plants a defiant kiss on my lips.

I roll my eyes and turn back to the front, giving Sikowitz half of my attention. I think I've found a second attractive thing about Jade. She's a great kisser. I mean, phenomenally fantastic. When I kissed Cat, that was the best kiss I'd ever gotten. Sad but true. Then Jade kissed me….Oh. My. Gosh!

Hm. That's so sad. My best kisses came from girls. I wonder if that makes me gay.

The bell rings, startling me out of my disturbing musings.

"Yay! Lunch!" Cat squeals.

I shake my head at her. André says you get used to her after a while. I guess it's true. I've stopped trying to figure her out and I kind of just accept her.

"Tori Vega, Melissa Imnuhere, hang back for a moment!" Sikowitz calls out before I can even get out of my chair.

"My last name is Belle, Mr. Sikowitz." Melissa sighs. I can't blame her for getting exasperated. She's told him that a dozen times.

Personally, I think Sikowitz is just having a little fun at her expense.

"Alright, I'm out." Jade mutters behind me. When she gets up, my back immediately feels cold.

I kind of miss her.

"Meet ya at The Café," I call absently.

"No, shit." She answers.

{~~~O~~~}

On my way to The Café, I bypass the grub truck, because well, I have no money to eat with. I already gave it to Jade.

I head straight for "our table." Yes, there's actually a table me, André, Beck, Robbie, Cat, and Jade sit at all the time; and they're all there.

Despite the fact that they've broken up, Jade's sitting next to Beck, both of their backs facing me. But what's weirder than _that_ is how no one's talking. No one. Not even Cat.

I take a deep breath before putting on a smile and quickly making my way toward them. André spots me first, and gives me a smile and a wave. It does wonders for my soul.

I take another deep breath.

Show time.

"Were you _trying_ to kill me in there," I say, before plopping heavily into Jade's lap.

"Do that again, Vega, and they'll never find the body." She grunts.

"Check me. I think you left a mark." I shrug before lifting up the back of my shirt a little. I've opted to go for being unfazed by her implied death threat. I mean, I kinda knocked the wind out of her so that _was_ my bad.

"There's nothing there." Jade grunts back immediately. Her search is quick. Too quick.

"You didn't even look," I turn and give her a pout.

She rolls her eyes and lifts my shirt even higher. This search takes about five seconds.

"There's nothing here but back zits." She claims.

My mouth falls open. "I do _not _have back zits!" I yell.

Jade chuckles and lets my shirt down, trapping one of her hands on my lower back. I shiver slightly when she begins rubbing lazy circles into my skin.

I've found a third thing to like about Jade. When she's not trying to hurt me, her touches feel really-

Wait. Jade said something about me having back zits, and no one commented. No one even laughed.

"Why's everyone so quiet?" I look around the table, eyeing all of my friends, but I barely glance at Beck. I still feel bad for "dating" his ex.

André is the first to speak. "Well, we _were _talking but then…"

"What?" I encourage him to continue. He's always doing that, leaving me hanging.

"Rex asked me where I got this mark from." Jade answers in a bored voice. I turn a bit so that I can see what "this mark" is and she's pointing at her neck, where I bit her Friday night.

Ouch!

All day her hair has been hanging loosely over her shoulders, covering the mark. But I guess since it's so hot out here she's pulled her hair back, exposing the bruise to the world.

I've got to say, that looks way worse than it did that night. I can see where she tried to cover it with makeup, but she's just too pale and it's just too dark.

I blush and shift uncomfortably. I did that, but it wasn't anything like _that_. She just made me so mad and I bit her. I don't know where it came from, it just kinda happened…..and I think she _liked _it.

I move a little, deciding to slide off of Jade's lap because I'm starting to feel weird, but she wraps an arm around my waist and I know it means to stay put.

"Stop squirming so much, your butt bones are really sharp," she tells me and I blush even more.

"My butt bones are not sharp!" I claim.

"Uh, yeah they are." André pipes up.

I start to glare at him for agreeing with Jade, but I don't get the chance. My new "girlfriend" chooses this moment to cut in.

"How would you know?"

"Well you see, one time she…."

Jade glares at him, and he falters before trying again.

"I can see it when I look at…"

Jade leans forward, her eyes flashing dangerously. And André knows he's not doing any better this time around. So, he changes his tactics.

"Uh...I don't know. I was just agreeing with you 'cause you're always right?"

"Are you asking me or telling me, André?"

"I uh…"

"So why were you guys so quiet again," I cut in; not only to save my best friend from my girlfriend but to shift everyone's focus from my sharp butt bones at the same time.

"Jade said you're a biter," Beck answers as if he's waiting for the real reason she's bruised; but that _is_ the real reason. I bit Jade.

"Just that one time." I defend myself.

"And the time in my room." Jade corrects, reminding me about the time I bit her ear. I forgot about that.

"Just those two times." I admit.

"What about your first day in Sikowitz' class? You bit her leg." Robbie chimes in.

"Just those three times."

Then stupid Rex speaks up. "And then you bit her arm"-

"Okay, Okay! I'm a biter!" I relent.

"Please don't bite me!"

"Cat, I'm not gonna bite you."

"Yay!"

"So, you and Jade…" Beck makes a gesture with his hand, like he's waiting for me to pick up where he left off.

What the chiz does he want me to say? There's nothing else _to _say.

I pick up a few fries from Jade's tray and stuff my mouth quickly. Hey, I'm hungry.

Jade snorts. "Well, that wasn't pretty, babe."

I roll my eyes.

"I saw that."

I roll 'em again, but I'm somewhat relieved. I thought she was gonna pitch a fit about me stealing her food and I wanted to get enough in so that I'm not starving by the time I get home.

"Can you guys please tell us what the chiz is going on?" André freaks on us.

I open my mouth, and as soon as I do, Jade puts a finger to my lips. "Don't talk with your mouth full." She commands before facing André. "We're dating."

"That's hot!"

"Rex!" Robbie chastises before continuing with, "Cool. Is it like a new project, some kind of a social experiment? I bet it was a private project for Mr."-

"No, we're dating, for real." Jade interrupts.

"Since when?" André scoffs.

"Friday –ish." I answer.

"The day after we broke up?" Beck ignores me and addresses Jade.

"Yep." Jade answers, not even bothering to elaborate.

"But you hate Tori." Beck accuses.

"Yeah, you guys go at it like cats and dogs." Andre chimes in.

"Yeah we do," Jade agrees, her voice has gone all sultry-like. Even Cat should be able to pick up on the fact that Jade's not talking about the same kind of "going at it" that André is.

I blush at her insinuation.

"Jade! Okay, we don't exactly get along all the time but, we went out on a double date Friday and it was nice. We still fought a little but, I don't know…. Are you okay with it?" I ask, looking Beck in the eyes for the first time today.

He stares at me for a while, probably waiting for me to tell him I'm joking.

I can't.

Finally, he shrugs. "I'm cool with it," he says, giving me a very small smile, but a smile nonetheless.

I jump up from Jade's lap and hug him.

"Three…two…"

I roll my eyes. Jade's counting. Really? We're just hugging. "It's just a hug, Jade!" I sigh. "Here, I'll give you an even longer one." I offer; but she declines.

"I don't like hugs."

"Liar liar, planes on fire!" Cat sing-songs.

_Planes on fire?_

"It's pants on fire, Cat."

"Nuh, uh. One time, my brother told a lie and a plane caught fire."

"…"

"But don't worry, he wasn't on it."

"Uh, why'd you call Jade a liar, Little Red?" André asks, just to get Cat to stop talking about her brother as it always makes us uncomfortable. But if you ask me, Cat should just stop talking period.

"Because I saw them hugging in the bathroom, Friday. And Jade _liked_ it." She sing-songs some more.

Everyone looks at me and Jade, waiting for us to respond.

I don't deny it and neither does Jade. What's to deny anyway? I did hug her. She pushed me down afterward, but Cat really did see a hug between me and Jade West.

So I just sit back down, squeezing in between her and Beck, and as soon as I do, my phone buzzes.

I pull it out of my back pocket and smile when I see the text. It's Danny; and he's asking me how long Jade and I have _really_ been dating. There are quotation marks around the word dating, suggesting he still doesn't believe me.

I shake my head in amusement before texting back my answer.

**Me:** What are you asking? How long we've been dating or how long we've been you know, "dating?"

**Danny:** The second one.

**Me:** We told you already.

**Danny:** I don't believe it.

**Me:** Why?

**Danny:** I know you. You don't jump in bed with someone after the first day.

I snort. He means I didn't jump in bed with _him_ after the first day…or week…or month.

"Babe, Who's that?"

I glance up at Jade, my smile still in place. "No one."

She raises a brow at me and holds her hand out expectantly. "Then lemme see."

"No." I frown. I'm _not _giving her my phone. I wouldn't give my "boyfriend" my phone if I was dating a guy. The rules should be the same for a girl.

Jade raises her eyebrows at me, and I raise mine back. I'm not changing my mind no matter what she does with her eyeballs.

My phone buzzes again, and I should ignore it because me and Jade are having a _moment_, but I don't. I read the text. And I can't help it. I smile again. Danny's so full of it. Now he wants to meet me somewhere, just me and him, so we can "talk."

I'm about to text him back a firm "no thank you" when Jade snatches my phone from my hands.

"Jade!"

She ignores me and reads my texts, her eyes going wide. She's angry. But I don't care.

I'm angry too.

I snatch my phone away from her.

"I thought I made it clear that I don't like that wazzbag!" she yells at me.

"Stop calling him that." I mutter.

"He _is_ a wazzbag!"

"I know, but we're trying to be friends."

"Why?"

"Why not? You're still friends with Beck."

"Beck's not a wazzbag!"

I roll my eyes. "Calm down."

"Tell him to lose your number!" She demands, ignoring me and getting even louder.

"No!" I yell back.

Okay, I honestly wouldn't mind never having to speak with Danny again, but I don't want Jade telling me what to do, or who to talk to.

"Vega…" Jade growls warningly.

I get up and walk away. I don't need to deal with this.

I don't get far at all because she follows after me. "Don't walk away from me!" she shouts as she yanks on my arm.

I scowl back at her. I'll walk away from whoever I dang well please. _And,_ I'll talk to whoever I dang well please. And as if to prove that point, my phone starts ringing. I know it's Danny. Jade must know too, because says, "Don't you dare answer that."

I ignore her and press talk. "Hell- Jade!"

She's snatched my phone away…again. "Stop calling my girlfriend!" she yells into the phone.

I reach for it but she turns away.

"Loose her number, now!" She commands.

Basta Ya! She's gone way too far.

I snatch my phone away from her ear, pulling a little of her hair with it, but I don't care.

She's glaring at me, breathing that dragon fire, but I still don't care.

I'm so pissed off; I bet I'm breathing fire too.

"Are you kidding me, Jade?" I scream and throw my hands up in exasperation. "This is exactly why you broke up with Beck, because you couldn't get over your jealousy issues. You get mad at Beck because he's _friends_ with Alyssa, and you get mad at me for texting Danny. I don't even like him and you know it! You _know_ what he did to me! So what's your problem?"

_Too far, Tori._

I know I've gone far, but I was really feeling the moment. It _felt _real. It still feels real. She's snapped her mouth shut and there's this look on her face. I can tell she's angry; but I can see that she's hurt most of all.

I'm not trying to hurt her.

I hang my head and draw a deep breath before getting the courage to look her in the eye again. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that, but you really don't have to worry about Danny or _anyone_ else. I'll never cheat on you."

I stare at her, hoping she'll say something. Anything. She can even tell me she hates me.

But she doesn't say anything. She just glares back at me and that's when I find it. Number four. Jade's so dang sexy when she's mad.

"Pinky promise," I hold my pinky up, praying that I haven't angered her to the point where she'll break it. Sexy or not, it'll still hurt if she breaks my finger.

Then she surprises me. She gives me a faint smile before taking my pinky in hers.

I can't help it. I let a grin eat up my whole face.

She pulls me to her, both hands curled firmly around my waist, and she kisses me. "You better not break your promise to me, Vega." She murmurs against my lips.

I pull back and look her in the eyes. "I won't." I sincerely promise. I barely get the words out before she's kissing me again and again. And what shocks me is that my _instinctive_ response is to kiss her back. Not pull away.

Crap! I just might be gay.

"Good Gandhi!"

Me and Jade spring apart. Well, mostly I jump apart from Jade but she doesn't let me go anywhere. She's still got her hands on my waist.

I look over at the man who scared the fudge outta me. Sikowitz. He keeps looking from me and Jade to his coconut.

I roll my eyes. What's he doing out here anyway? I never see him at The Asphalt.

"Vega's my girlfriend." Jade announces dryly once she gets tired of him alternating looks from us to his coconut juice.

"Ah, well, kiss your girlfriend on your own time, Jade."

"I am on my own time!"

The bell rings, signaling the end of lunch.

"Not anymore you're not!" Sikowitz all but sings as he walks away, still staring at his coconut.

Jade literally growls low in her throat. And I have to smile. She's adorable when she's flustered.

"What!" she snaps at me.

I shrug and keep my smile, which only makes her scowl at me.

God she's sexy.

Jeez, Vega! Just keep it in your pants, will you!

She narrows her eyes at me, and that freakin smirk appears out of nowhere. She's up to something. She's really sexy when she's up to stuff.

Wait, what?

Jeez, I'm _so_ gay. I gotta get outta here. Now. Before I wet my pants.

"I gotta wazz, I'll see you later." I claim before sinking my teeth into her bottom lip and tugging a little. It's just a little nip instead of the clichéd kiss goodbye.

I have a feeling Jade will like it better that way. She's a freak like that.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: **OMG! You guys are really making me feel special with all the reviews! Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy this one!

{~~~JADE~~~}

"Guess what!?"

I slam my locker shut and openly glare at a perky Vega. I don't care if she's supposed to be my girlfriend. It's too early in the morning for this shit.

"I hate guessing things, babe." I tell her before leaning in and placing a coffee flavored kiss on her mouth.

"Oh, okay." She says absently as she reaches behind her and pulls her phone out of her back pocket. It just beeped, alerting her that she got a text message.

Out of the corner of my eye I notice we have an audience; which is just plain stupid if you ask me. Me and Vega have been a _thing_ for nearly a week. We should be old news by now! It's not like we're the only lesbian couple at this school.

Then again, it probably has nothing to do with the lesbian stuff, and _everything_ to do with the fact that it's _me_ and _Vega_. On that front, I can't really fault them for the gawking. But I still want to take a pair of scissors to every last one of their eyeballs. Or maybe just one eye each. It'd be kind of cool to see half the school walking around with an eye patch.

The image makes me smile.

"See ya at fourth period, then." Vega interrupts my musings as she shoves her phone back into her pocket. Then she starts to walk away.

Really? Who does that? Huh? You can't just go up to someone, say "guess what?" and then leave them hanging. It's inhumane.

I grab Vega's hand before she gets too far and I yank a little, making her face me. "Whoa, babe, aren't you forgetting something?"

Her eyebrows dip in confusion for a second and then her eyes light up. "Oh, sorry." She apologizes before nipping my bottom lip.

She never kisses me. She always bites. And I love that she does that. It's way less of a mushy-gushy/intimate interaction, and more of a freaky casual thing, which suits me just fine. It kind of balances all the soft and loving kisses I have to give her because my new "girlfriend" doesn't exactly get pleasure from pain. No matter how little it is, it's a huge turn off for her. I caught on to that fairly quickly while we were mussing each other up in the bathroom last Friday.

I shake my head and focus. Vega's turned and is leaving again, but I still didn't get what I wanted out of her.

I pull on her arm, again turning her back around to face me. "Not that." I scoff. "Didn't you want to tell me something?"

"But you didn't guess." She frowns, cocking her head to the side like she's confused.

"And I'm not _going_ to guess." I cross my arms over my chest defiantly. God, this girl makes me want to open up a vein. And not one of my own.

"I figured that part out when you told me you hate guessing," she chuckles lightly, mirroring my stance but in a more playful way.

I'm not playing.

"So?…" I inquire, not bothering to chuckle or even smile back. I'm losing my patience.

"So, what?"

"Tell me!" I yell, throwing my arms down and making two fists at my side.

My patience has been lost.

"Tell you what, Jade?"

"How the hell should I know!? You're the one who said "guess what?!""

"But you _didn't_ guess." She answers calmly, innocently, with just a hint of a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

I work my jaw from side to side. She's fucking with me. And I hate being fucked with.

"Vega…" I warn. If I have to count I'm gonna end up putting this chick in the hospital.

_That's not nice, Jade._

Ugh! Tori's in my head, _again_, trying to be my conscience and telling me what's right and what's wrong. I swear to God this shit is getting old. Why's she still here? Why? No other character that I've played has stuck around once my performance was over. So, why the fuck is _Tori_ still here aggravating the shit out of me?

"Later, I gotta get to class." Vega winks at me before heading off.

I blink after her a few times before remembering we're still in the middle of something.

"We still have five minutes until the bell rings!" I shout after her.

"I gotta wazz!" She calls over her shoulder.

I glare at her retreating back. That girl sure does wazz a lot. And I mean _a lot_. So much so that I'd swear she had a bladder problem if I didn't know any better. And I _do_ know better. According to her medical records, the only thing wrong with Vega is she's allergic to bush daisies.

Yeah, that's right. I checked her medical records. I do my research.

"So, what do you have on her?"

I flinch a little. I hate it when people sneak up behind me and talk in my ear. Even if people happen to be Beck.

I turn and face him, an aggravated scowl on my face. "What?" I ask, though I heard him perfectly well the first time.

"I said, what do you have on Tori?"

I narrow my eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," he pauses there to pop a stick of gum into his mouth before continuing. "How'd you get her to pretend to date you?"

I cock my head to the side, seriously contemplating whether or not I feel offended. It doesn't take me too long to figure that I don't. Truth is, blackmailing Vega into doing something as drastic as dating me _is_ something I would do. Beck knows me well.

I miss that. I miss almost everything about him.

But now is not the time to take a useless trip down memory lane. It's an opportunity that I plan on taking full advantage of. Although Beck's only talking to me on Vega's behalf, the fact of the matter is _he_ came to _me._ Attention is attention, whether it's negative or positive. And I can always turn this into a positive for myself.

"You've known Me and Vega are dating since Monday." I tell him, pausing there to un-cock my head and give him a pointed look.

"I'm aware." He prompts, encouraging me to continue.

"It's _Friday_ and you're just now asking me this? You're an awful friend." I accuse. Then I walk away, heading toward first period. I know he'll follow. I never answered his question.

I hear him come up behind me and I smile to myself.

"Well, I'm here now." He says once we're walking side by side. "Come on, Jade. She's a nice girl. This has gone on long enough. Whatever you have on her just drop it. Let her go."

His speech is very simple and straight to the point. No moral lessons on how I wouldn't want anyone to do this to me, or how wrong it is to treat people the way I do, etc. etc.

I like it better that way.

"What makes you think Vega didn't ask_ me_ out?" I ask.

He gives me this look, like I tried to kill a rare butterfly or something.

Okay, so he has a right to look at me that way. Vega asking me out does sound a bit unfeasible, so I'll leave that one alone for now.

I shrug my shoulders and avoid eye contact. For most people, it's a sign of guilt. For me, it just reaffirms the fact that I don't give a flying chiz. "Why do you think I have something on Vega?"

"Because she wouldn't pretend to date you otherwise." Beck rebuttals immediately. Confidently.

I nod my head slowly and purse my lips. That's a fair assumption to make. But it's also the wrong assumption as I really don't have anything on her. Nothing juicy enough to blackmail her with anyway. But again, I let it go. "And why would I make her _pretend _to date me?"

"To make me jealous." Once more, he answers quickly and confidently.

I stop in my tracks, but not because I'm shocked or anything pathetic like that. We've made it to my classroom. I put my hand on the door knob and turn it. "If I wanted to make you jealous, I wouldn't use Vega. She's just for me." I say before walking into class and leaving Beck in the hallway to think about what I said.

Once first period is over, I hurry out. Not only do I hate this class and often skip it, but I expect Beck to be waiting for me. I purposely left him hanging, knowing that he hates that.

And I'm right. He's standing off to the side.

I pretend not to see him and head for my locker.

"Jade!" He calls out to me.

"What?" I answer, not even bothering to check behind myself.

Beck has to jog a bit to catch up because I'm practically powerwalking.

"What did you mean back there, before homeroom?"

I make a face, like I don't know what the chiz he's talking about. "Be more specific, I said a lot of things before homeroom."

"You said, you wouldn't use Tori to make me jealous."

"That means exactly what it sounds like it means." I roll my eyes as if he's an idiot.

He hates that too.

"Then who would you use to make me jealous." He scowls and crosses his arms over his chest.

I ignore him, stopping in front of my locker and putting in my combination.

"Don't you have to go to your locker?" I snap, seemingly tired of all the hounding.

"Nope." He holds up his notebook, indicating he's got everything he needs for his next class, and leans against the nipple covered locker beside mine. "Can you answer my question now?"

"What question?" I mutter distractedly, pushing in my world history, and retrieving my geometry book before slamming my locker shut.

"Who would you use to make me jealous?" He repeats.

I sigh impatiently as I begin heading towards my next class. "You mean _if_ I was going to do something as stupid and pathetically immature as that?"

"Yeah." His answer comes out slow and hesitant. He's not as confident as he once was. I've managed to plant a small seed of doubt in his head by insinuating that using someone else to make an ex jealous is "stupid" and "pathetically immature."

God, this is easy.

I shrug my shoulders, keeping my cool demeanor when I answer. "I don't know, some random dude."

"Some random dude?" He frowns.

"Yeah, someone to kiss when you're around, and send on his merry way when you're not."

"And Tori?" He inquires.

"What about Vega?"

"You said, she's for you."

"And?" I make a speed it up gesture with my hand because I've arrived at my next class.

"What did you mean by that?"

I give another sigh of impatience before answering. "It means, I'm not dating her to make you jealous. She's someone I kiss whether or not you're around."

"And now we're back to square one." He sighs impatiently.

"And square one would be…?"

"What do you have on her? Like I said, she wouldn't agree to date you unless you threatened her."

I roll my eyes and open my classroom door.

Because I didn't answer, he runs his hands through his hair out of pure frustration.

I miss that.

I smile to myself as I sit down in the back of the classroom. The good thing about leaving a cliff hanger like that is I know he'll be back after class is over, _again_.

This whole dating Vega to make Beck jealous is working better than I thought it would; maybe not as quickly as I'd like, but definitely easy enough.

See, I know Beck. And I know he's not gonna give in to this right away. It'll be like the five stages of grief with him. First, there'll be denial, which he's already going through. He's not gonna believe I've moved on so fast, and he'll assume I'm lying. He'll probably even go as far as to try and prove that me and Vega are faking; which means I've got to lay some ground work down. I've got to extend our relationship, bring it outside of school and into the home. Joy already thinks we're doing the do, so that's no problem on my end. But I've got to make sure Vega's parents know we're dating. Today. That should be fun. Especially if her parents are prudes or religious. Then all my bases will be covered. Well most of them, Vega's still gotta perform; but if we can do this, if we can successfully convince everybody that we're dating, stage two should be right around the corner.

The anger one. I doubt Beck'll be obscene with it, but once he realizes me and Vega are the real deal, I expect to see a bit of anger simmering just beneath a seemingly composed exterior. He'll feel resentment towards me of course, but most of it will be directed at Vega. He'll be wondering what she has that he doesn't; how she could keep me, tolerate me, make me happy, etc. Which means, I've got to pretend to be happy. Not in an obvious way 'cause I'm still me, but the "Jade" kind of happy. And I can do that, no problem.

It'll probably take a couple weeks of Beck realizing we're a legit couple to get him to this point. That's when stage three, the bargaining, will come in. I doubt he'll beg me to take him back. That's not like him. He'll probably do something a little more subtle, like get a girlfriend to make me jealous. It'll be hard for me, but I'm determined to stay strong during that stage. I'll show that I'm a little uncomfortable, but still okay with it. Because let's face it, pretending to be completely indifferent will only make it seem as though I'm trying too hard not to care, thus tipping Beck off to the fact that something's not right. And I don't want to do that.

Last but not least, the depression stage. I know acceptance is the last stage of grief, but I don't want Beck to get that far. If he accepts me and Vega as a couple, then he won't care about me anymore and I'll be stuck with Vega. And that's _not _the plan.

Abruptly, the bell rings, startling the crap out of me. If we take a pop quiz on what was taught today, I'll fail it completely. That's how much attention I spared my lessons.

When I get out of class this time, Beck's not off to the side. He's standing in front of the door. I'd either have to be blind not to see him, or one of those freaks with low self-esteem who stare at the ground 95% of their life. And I'm neither of those.

I make my face drop at the sight of him, like I'm tired of having to see him. "You know, you're not my boyfriend anymore. You should stop walking me to my classes. I don't feel like doing that reassuring shit with Vega."

"Then answer my questions." He shrugs.

It's an ultimatum. If I answer his question he'll leave me alone.

I hate ultimatums. And I hate being told what to do. He knows that.

"Don't tell me what to do." I scowl.

"Fine." He walks beside me, silently. And instinctively I know it's time to send Beck away.

I know this because I'm an actress. And right now it's like both of us are in a play that's entirely improvised. No script, no lines, no sound effects. Just real people interacting until curtain call.

If I continue to let Beck walk beside me, he'll know that I don't mind his company. He'll know I'm _pretending_ to be tired of having him follow me around.

So, I have to send him away now. Timing is crucial in a play. The right line delivered at the wrong time can fuck up a whole production. And I don't plan on fucking up my own play.

"Fine," I relent, stopping in my tracks. "I don't have anything on Vega and I never asked her to pretend to be my girlfriend, now will you leave me alone?"

I may be twisting the truth a bit here but it's true. Initially, Vega asked me to be her girlfriend. Not the other way around.

"So…." Beck makes a motion with his hand, silently asking me to continue and I oblige.

"So, she's my girlfriend. Probably a rebound right now, but if she can keep up with me there's a good chance I just might keep her. And honestly, I have a feeling she'll last; but if you tell her that I swear to God, Beck, I'll use my special scissors on your hair!" I threaten.

"Jade, cut the crap okay. You don't like Tori. You_ never _liked Tori!" He yells irritably, finally losing his patience with me.

Trust me, it's a good thing. A very good thing.

I roll my eyes as if I'm exasperated and stomp past him. "She's grown on me." I mutter, rather than deny the fact that I didn't like Vega off rip.

He follows after me. "She's _grown_ on you?" He mocks me disbelievingly.

I hate being mocked.

"Look. I know there are these unwritten rules and rights and stuff exes have. Like the whole "we broke up so I don't have to answer to you" thing, or, "my business is my business…" yada yada ya. But if I give you an answer, an honest answer, will you drop it?" I snap, not really playing a part anymore. He's really starting to get on my nerves.

"If I believe it."

I roll my eyes knowing that's the best I'm gonna get. "I like her because she's not afraid of me. Happy?"

Wait, what? I was _not _meaning to say that. It just came out. In fact, I don't know what the fuck that even_ means_.

"Nope. I'm still waiting for this to make sense."

_Yeah, you and me both Oliver._

Then it comes to me and I smile a little, like I'm remembering something endearing. And I kind of am. Her first day of school, I was gonna pour coffee in her hair, and Vega bit the shit out of me. She saw a shovel in my car, and she jumped out of it _while_ it was moving, I could literally list a dozen more ways she defied me within her first week. Vega's got guts and I can respect that. She never lets me walk all over her. "She never lets me win." I smile softly.

"What?"

I snap out of it, shaking away the uninvited fuzzy wuzzy feelings I was experiencing. "She's a challenge." I shrug nonchalantly. "I like challenges."

Beck says nothing to me. There's no argument he can come up with because I'm telling the truth. I do like a challenge.

{~~~O~~~}

"So how come you never buy your own lunch Tori? Don't you have any money?"

I roll my eyes. Like I expected, Beck is on a mission to prove me and Vega aren't really dating each other. He's gonna scrutinize and question every odd thing he sees when it comes to us.

And I guess this _is_ odd. Vega hasn't bought her own lunch since last Friday. She's always leeching off of my plate. Why? Because she gives me her allowance and lunch money.

"I put her on a diet," I answer quickly, basically telling Beck to mind his own damn business.

Vega chuckles beside me and steals a tortilla chip off my plate. "Jade, would it really kill you to let them know how nice you are?"

"Yes." I push out through clenched teeth. Though I don't know what the chiz she's talking about, I still know what my line is.

Everyone else at the table is sporting a majorly confused expression. I'd like to be right there with them making the "huh?" face, but I've got to pretend like I'm in the loop.

Vega rolls her eyes and pops another chip into her mouth.

"I'm trying to save my money, so Jade's sharing her lunch with me."

Hm. That sounds much better than what I said. Good job Vega.

"Cool, so uh…whatcha saving up for?" Beck asks. He's trying to be nonchalant, but I know better. He's being a nosey pain in the ass.

"I kinda don't wanna tell anyone yet. It's a surprise. Jade doesn't even know." Vega lies smoothly.

"Yay! I love surprises!" Cat throws her hands up in a hallelujah/glory to God sort of fashion.

Everyone smiles at her but me.

"I don't." I grumble.

"You don't what?" Vega asks distractedly while pulling out her phone. It just beeped for the second time since we've sat down to lunch not even five minutes ago. I swear she gets a million texts a day.

"I don't like surprises." I clarify.

"You don't like anything, mami." She shrugs, eyes still glued to her phone and fingers flying across the touch screen keyboard.

Mami?

I'm a little lost for words so I stuff a chip into my mouth. I call Vega 'babe' all the time, but she _never_ uses terms of endearments for me. She never calls me anything other than Jade. I've been expecting her to start calling me sweetie, or honey, or dollface, or something as equally gross, but she's been sticking with my name. Until now that is.

Mami. I toss the word around in my head for a minute before deciding that I kind of like it. It makes me feel…sexy; in this really subtle way. I also find myself wishing Vega will call me that more often. Though I don't have high hopes that she will. It doesn't seem as if she realizes she said it in the first place. She was extremely distracted with her phone at the time, so it could've been some kind of slip up. I have no idea how much that word is tossed around at home. Which reminds me…

"Babe," I say, and I wait until Vega gives me her attention before I continue. "I'm giving you a ride home from school today. I left something at your place."

"When? Yesterday or Tuesday?" She frowns.

"Does it matter?"

"Yeah, because on Tuesday you left your, um…" she stops there and glances at everyone at the table, a small blush creeping up onto her cheeks. "You left different things on different days." She finishes a little quieter.

I raise my eyebrows. Maybe I shouldn't be so worried about Vega's ability to fake being my girlfriend. She's not too bad at this.

But before I can say anything to play on Vega's line, Rex's mouth flies open and Robbie rushes to cover it with his hand. Vega laughs at him when the puppet bites him, causing Robbie to drop his hand away from the puppets face immediately.

"Call the police. I have just been violated!" Rex yells.

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one with a disturbed look on my face when Robbie excuses himself and all but runs away, Rex placed strategically in front of his pants.

That boy seriously needs to get laid; but it's not gonna happen until he stops playing with dolls.

I'm the first to speak, because I desperately want to get rid of any thoughts concerning Robbie and Rex. "So, as I was saying before the disturbing interruption," I put a hand on Vega's shoulder to get her attention. "Meet me at my car after school and I'll take you home."

Vega shakes her head at me. "I don't need a ride home. But if you want I can bring your stuff tomorrow."

I narrow my eyes at her. There _is_ no stuff and she knows it! She knows that I have another reason for wanting to give her a ride home and she's refusing me! Why?

"Who's your ride home?" I demand.

"Me."

"Are you walking?" My eyes narrow even more.

"Nope."

"Catching a cab?"

"Nope." This time she pops the "p" and I begin to lose patience.

"Bus?" I guess.

"Nope."

"I hate guessing things, babe." I snarl.

She gives me a little smile before giving her phone her attention. I'm so tempted to snatch it out of her hands and throw it across The Café when she says, "I drove my car."

I _distinctively_ remember her telling me she doesn't have a car. So I call her out on it. "I thought you didn't have a car."

Vega puts the phone away, and looks me in my eyes. "I do."

"But you _told_ me you didn't have a car." I accuse.

"I did."

"So you lied to me." I state, not question.

"I didn't."

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"NO!" I scream abruptly. I've had enough of this back and forth banter that gets me absolutely freakin' nowhere!

Everyone jumps; everyone except for Vega. She's just popped a chip into her mouth and is now choking on it. Seriously? She's choking_ again_? I swear this girl is a complete retard.

I raise my hand, ready to slap the shit out of her. Her eyes widen and she scoots away from me. "I'm fine, mami. I don't need your help." She panics.

I drop my hand and let her recover on her own.

She called me mami again. I_ really _like that.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Vega asks suddenly while dragging the back of her wrist across her mouth.

I blink at her, realizing that I'd been staring. I roll my eyes, more at myself than at her. I don't know why I was staring like a creeper. All she did was call me mami. It's not that big of a deal. In fact, it's not a big deal at all.

"It's nothing." I shrug nonchalantly, before leaning in and _trying _to give her a casual kiss.

She coughs in my mouth, soggy bits of tortilla spraying down my throat.

I see red.

Vega sees the look in my eyes and jumps out of her seat. Immediately, I follow after her, ready to kill.

"Vega!" I scream as I chase her around the table. "Get back here!"

"Ring around the rosie…" Cat starts singing loudly and clapping her hands.

I ignore her. Vega's my target, and I'm completely focused on that.

"Jade…" Beck stands up and tries to reason with me. It pisses me off. But what pisses me off even more is the fact that Vega hides behind Beck, clinging to the back of his shirt.

"Get from behind him, Now!" I scream at her.

"You know Jade," she pants and grabs on to what must be a stitch in her side. "You really shouldn't be mad at me."

"OH?"

"Yeah," she sucks in a huge amount of air, still trying to catch her breath. "It was your own fault."

"My fault? My fault!" My eyes widen. I can't believe she's got the nerve to blame this on me.

"Yeah. Why'd you try to kiss me? I was still coughing, freak."

I go deathly still. Oh, I'm gonna kill her. I'm gonna kill her dead. "_What_ did you just call me?" I ask, giving her a chance to back down.

"Don't repeat that." André offers some sound advice to his best friend.

Vega comes out from behind Beck and walks up to me, standing in my personal space. Her face is set in resolute determination as she faces me, bravely looking me in my eyes without flinching in the least.

Suddenly I feel my pinky being molested and I look down to see Vega linking hers with mine. This has become our thing. To outsiders it may seem cute or sweet, but for us, it's a reminder of the deal we made in the girls' bathroom. It's kind of like a warning and a 'trust me' at the same time.

I snap my head up just in time for Vega to lean in and grab my top lip with her teeth. She tugs a little roughly before letting go and attacking my bottom lip the same way. Then she pulls back abruptly.

I lean in for more. Because I want more. Bad. I didn't get anything out of that. It literally didn't even last a full two seconds! I didn't have time to respond, or kiss her back, or….wait. I open my eyes, (when did I close them,) and she's standing in front of me with this smirk on her face and her arms crossed over her chest.

"You liked that, mami. You can't tell me you're _not_ a freak." She challenges.

What the _fuck_!

My eyes widen and my nose flares. I can feel the rage coursing through my veins and I have one thought on my mind. I, jade west, am going to end up in prison. _Today._ Because I'm going to murder this girl and give her mutilated body to her cop dad.

I think my thoughts are showing on my face because it's so quiet out here. Everyone at Hollywood arts must be waiting for me to kill my girlfriend. Even Beck looks a little nervous, and I can see him subtly inching his way toward Vega in order to protect her should I lash out.

"Give. Me. Your. Arm." I growl.

"Don't do it, Tori." André gulps out his warning, but he's too late. Vega immediately hands over her arm and I take it, but not before sending André a glare so fierce he falls out of his chair.

{~~~O~~~}

**Author's note: **So, Jade's still got "Tori" stuck in her head. I hope it's not confusing. I think Jade needs help becoming a better person and "Tori" is the way her mind is working that out for her. I don't think she'd admit, not even to herself, that it's actually Vega making her want to be a better person. She's such a weirdo;)


	9. Chapter 9

{~~~TORI~~~}

"Don't do it, Tori!" André gulps, but he's too late. I've already given Jade my arm and I can't get it back. Her grip is _that _tight.

One of these days I'm gonna learn that when Jade tells me to give her my arm, I should stop and think about it. Maybe if I actually pause, I'll realize I _shouldn't_ do it. Because Jade's EVIL.

Clearly, it's too late for me today; which probably just makes me stupid. I mean, even with the way she said it this time, even with the way she emphasized each word in a way that suggests she going to drag me off to a secluded area and chop me up into bits and pieces, I _still_ gave her my arm; and without the slightest bit of hesitation I might add. See? Estupida.

She begins to pull on me, marching me toward the school. As we pass by our table, I grab a few more chips off of Jade's plate with my free hand. If I'm going to die, I'm not going to have an empty tummy when I go.

Jade turns a little and glares at me. Without breaking her stride in the least, she reaches out with her free hand, crunches my chips into a million pieces, and lets them fall to the ground.

"Aw man," I whimper, mourning the loss of my food.

Jade yanks me even harder and walks faster. It's more than obvious she can't wait to get to where we're going. I, on the other hand, am not as enthusiastic as she is, so I drag my feet. You'd think it would slow her down some, but it doesn't. I just end up tripping over my own feet a bunch of times.

An empty hallway later, we end up at the janitor's closet. I do_ not _wanna go in there with her. There are things in there...like gloves to hide her fingerprints, chemicals to clean up the blood, trash bags to dump my chopped up body in, and you can bet Jade's already got the scissors.

She pushes the door open and I make an effort to resist, but with one extremely hard tug I'm shoved into the janitor's closet. To make matters worse, Jade pushes the equipment trolley in front of the door as soon as it's closed. The closet can't be locked from the inside, so she's just made it a bit harder for anyone to come rescue me.

"Anything you'd like to say, Vega?" She asks once she's turned around to face me.

"I'm still hungry." I whine.

Jeez. I really need to think before I speak. I'm still hungry? Do I really want those to be my last words. How about please don't murder me. That seems more appropriate. I open my mouth, ready to add that part on but Jade cuts in.

"Do you even know _why_ we're in here, babe?" She scoffs.

I frown. "We're all alone. Why are you calling me babe?"

She attacks me. Out of the blue, she just…_lunges_ at me. Both her hands fist the collar of my shirt and she backs me up until I hit the iron ladder behind me.

It hurts, but I'm too shocked to even register how much. She leans in, close enough to kiss me if she were to do as much as twitch her lips. I jerk my head back. With the way she's glaring at me, I have no doubt that right now, at this very moment, a simple kiss from her would hurt.

I don't know what I did to make her eyes go that round or her nostrils flare so wide, but I _do_ know that I've managed to piss her off more than I_ ever_ have in the past. And when I find out exactly what I did to set her off, I'm positive I won't _ever_ do it again.

"You're my girlfriend." She growls. "Whether we're out in public, or alone together, or if you're in your room all by your fucking self because you _never_ know when someone's watching you. Got it!?"

I nod my head quickly and look down at the ground. I can no longer look her in the eyes. I'm too ashamed of myself. What was I thinking? This closet isn't soundproof. What if someone had heard me? I'd have blown our cover. I would've broken my promise, a pinky promise no less; and I _never_ do that.

"Good. Now answer the question." Jade snaps.

I frown at my boots, still unable to meet her eyes with my own. "I forgot the question."

"Babe, my eyes are up here." Her voice is a little softer, not very much softer, but her tone has changed enough for me to get the courage to face her.

She rolls her eyes at me, and I feel a little bit better. At least she's not stabbing that unbearably intense glare into my eyeballs anymore.

"Do you know why we're here?" She repeats her earlier question.

"No." I answer softly. It's not technically a lie. I know she's going to do something to me. I just don't know _what_.

She smiles at me before putting her hands in my hair as an answer to my question.

I cringe.

I can't help my reaction. She's gonna make me look mussed up, just like she did on our double date last Friday, and I'd be willing take anything over that._ Anything_, and that includes a que me de nalgadas. Yeah, that's right. I would rather bend over her knee and let her hit my butt a bunch of times than to let her muss me up again. Trust me, having someone pull your hair and eat your lips raw is _not_ fun.

"Wait, I gotta wazz." I lie, trying to push past her and leave.

"No."

Her answer is simple, and quite frankly the answer I expected to get. She still didn't "punish" me yet. I know it's something she just _has_ to do because she's Jade West and she's got a reputation to protect and all, but still…I'm her girlfriend now. Don't I have to be strong too? If I'm not, then I'm no more than a lap dog, a toy. And _that_ I most definitely am not. I'm a person, her equal.

"Jade, lemme go." I push.

"No." she pushes back.

We fight a bit, which has become a "thing" with us now, so it's not alarming in the least. Jade's trying to pin me down so she can jam her hands in my hair and all that other stuff. I, of course, am resisting with all my might.

It's not long before it gets a little heated. The more I resist, the more violent Jade gets.

I know it's because she's losing patience with me. She wants me to do everything she says _when_ she says it, but if Jade's going to be my girlfriend she needs to realize that we're not always going to do everything her way. At least, not without a fight or _some_ form of protest from me. Even if it's a dang whine.

"Hold still!" Jade growls.

No thank you.

I push her off of me a little harder than I mean to and she falls back onto the equipment trolley, knocking a few cleaning supplies down when she lands.

Oops.

Her eyes widen and she retaliates by jerking me to her and flipping me around. My arms flail about, trying to grab a hold of something, anything to break my fall; but all I get is a mop. And I don't even get a good grip on it. It falls.

Jade hooks her arms under my pits, spins me around and smashes me into the ladder, again, but this time with a little more force.

"Hay, Jade!" I groan loudly. That hurt so dang bad that I stop fighting and stand absolutely still. She wins. She can tug on my clothes and bite my lips and yank my hair. I don't care. Just please don't let her do _that _again.

"Take… your pants…off." Jade's pants. She's breathing heavily, like she ran a marathon. And there's sweat on her forehead and neck, making her hair stick to her skin. I'm pretty sure I look the same, if not worse; but I'm still proud I worked her so good, that I didn't go down without a fight.

She steps back from me, giving me room to do as she said. That's when it fully clicks for me. She just told me to take my pants off. But why? I didn't have to take my pants off the last time she mussed me up.

Aw man, what the chiz is she gonna do differently this time?

"Off." She commands, when I hesitate.

I bite my lip nervously. I don't _wanna_ take my pants off.

She pulls her scissors out of the waistband of her very tight black jeans. "Don't make me say it again," she growls. Only it's not a very threatening growl. She's still kinda winded.

I doubt Jade will actually stab me, but I bend over and begin to undo my boots anyway. She's gonna do whatever it is that she's got planned for me no matter what. Of that I am sure. I might as well get this over with. And the sooner the better.

I try to keep my hands sturdy as I undo my pants, but I can't. I'm really nervous. I keep my eyes down on the floor the whole time, not even looking at Jade once I'm jeanless.

I hear her take a step toward me. Then another. I still don't look up. I'm too busy trying to remember to breath. It's a conscious effort right now, to remember the inhaling and exhaling thing.

Jade puts her hands on my waist and I jump violently.

She laughs at me and it wazzes me off.

I can't help it if I'm nervous! My girlfriend's a freakin' psycho with a pair of scissors in her hand. _And_ the blades are cold. "Watch the scissors, mami." I hiss.

To my surprise, she actually gives me a halfhearted apology before putting them away.

I start to think that I'll maybe be okay when she asks, "Can you do a split, Vega?"

I look up at her then. What the heck…

"Can you?" she presses and I slowly shake my head back and forth. I have a feeling that was the wrong answer, for my sake anyway, because now she's got this ridiculously evil gleam in her eyes.

"Excellent." She murmurs before gently backing me up until I'm pressed against the ladder once again.

I shiver. Not only is the metal cold against my butt and legs, but I'm even more nervous than I was before. I don't know what Jade's gonna do to me, but I _do_ know this punishment won't fit the crime. I only called her a freak…in front of the whole school.

She grabs the back of my right knee and I gasp when she begins to lift it. I'm sure my face is ketchup red right now, not that she's even paying attention to me. Using her other hand, she raises my hand by the pinky and wraps it around her neck.

I'm downright trembling when she locks her eyes with mine and says, "Your safe word is fuck."

"W-What?" I gasp, eyes going wide. I'm sure, no _positive, _I didn't hear her right.

"Trust me babe. You're gonna want a safe word." She grins.

MALVADA!

"But I-I don't swear," I plead.

"Your safe word's still fuck." she shrugs.

"No," I shake my head. "I'm not gonna say it."

"Fine. Two fucks." She shrugs.

"Jade!" I push at her shoulder and try to pull my leg out of her grasp.

"Three fucks." She grunts, holding me securely so that I can't escape.

"Okay!" I relent.

"Three _loud_ fucks"

"But I said okay," I gasp.

"Three loud fucks and my name."

I shut up and glare at her. I'm not that stupid. If I say another word, no matter _what _it is, she'll add more to my safe word, and the one I got is already vulgar enough.

"Good girl," she smirks at me before raising my leg and simultaneously stooping down a little so she can drape it over her shoulder.

Sweet chiz, this is gonna be bad.

She begins rising to her full height at a very slow pace, and as she does, I'm very aware of the stretching in my hamstring. It's uncomfortable, but it doesn't _hurt…_yet. I have no doubt that the pain is coming, so I brace myself for it.

Once Jade is standing straight, she leans into the back of my thigh stretching me in the most painful manner. I grit my teeth and let my head fall back against the ladder.

I don't care what Jade does, I'm not using the safe word.

After a few seconds of silence from me, Jade pushes in even further.

"Ow!" I cry out, but my protest is cut off by Jade's lips on mine. I expect her to chew on my lips to get them to swell like the last time, but she doesn't. She kisses me, softly.

I don't like it. I don't like mixing pain with pleasure. It's weird and confusing, so I turn my head to the side.

"If you're gonna scream that loud, try to sound like you're suffering from the _good_ kind of pain." Jade whispers in my ear.

If my eyes weren't screwed shut so tight, I'd roll them. She wants me to make sex noises? She'll just have to excuse me for not feeling all that accommodating at this very moment.

I guess she takes my silence as an act of defiance, which it is, because she reaches her hand up, grabs the heel of my foot and begins to push.

"Oh God!" I gasp as she attempts to straighten my leg.

"Much better." She leans in even closer, the closest she can possibly get in fact. Her body is flush up against mine in a way that could be erotic to anyone watching, but for me…this doesn't feel sexy.

This. Bull. Poopy. _Hurts_!

I begin to shake; my breathing changing from slow and steady to quick and gaspy. I reach my hands back and grab onto the ladder. I have to. I can barely stand straight as my only support is one trembling mess of a limb.

After what seems like an eternity, Jade lets my leg down. I'm breathing so hard from relief I don't pay attention to the fact that she's grabbed my other leg. My left leg.

I'm not as flexible with that one. I can't help but to audibly protest when she gets that one onto her shoulder. I mean, even with my right leg bent at the knee in order to alleviate some of the tension, I don't know how long I'm going to last before she breaks something.

Yeah, I'm _that_ determined not to say the safe word…words. She can't keep me in the closet forever. One of the janitors _have _to come in here _sometime _to get supplies, right? I just gotta hold out for a few more-

"OH MY FREAKIN' GOD!" I scream when Jade abruptly straightens my right knee using nothing but her knees.

She laughs at me and I snap my eyes open and glare at her. I understand I can end this if I want to. I do. I know that I can make her stop just by saying four four-letter words, but at the same time, she's hurting me. She shouldn't laugh at me while she's hurting me. It's not right and I feel this intense urge to hurt her back; which I feel bad for almost immediately. I'm not really the type to hurt other people. Especially not for fun.

Jade starts leaning in again, and the pain is much more intense than before. I start the shaking and shallow breathing again.

She kisses me.

Freak.

I turn my head and she leans in even more.

I make this weird noise. It's somewhere between a slow moan and a dry sob. And it's pretty loud.

"Nice." Jade whispers.

She's such a freak. I wasn't _trying_ to make a sex noise. It _wasn't_ a sex noise! It just sounded an awful lot like one, that's all.

She kisses me again, and I snap at her. Like a cobra, I spring forward and bite the chiz out of her lips; both of them. I didn't mean to. I was just irritated and it was more or less a reflex.

My eyes go wide when I see that I've managed to draw blood out of the bottom lip.

Oh chiznit. I'm so gonna die.

"Shit Vega!" Jade moans loudly before abruptly pushing my foot so hard and far that it touches my ear. My _ear_. My foot is not supposed to touch my ear!

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, Jade!" I scream.

She lowers my leg immediately and if it weren't for Jade's arms around my waist, I would've fallen to my knees. I'm a little surprised she's holding me up while I catch my breath, but I'll take it. I don't think my legs are ever gonna work again. And I guess that was Jade's plan all along; to make me look like I got splunked so good, and hard, that I can't even walk straight.

Freak.

"Damn you're a tough nut to crack, baby." Jade sighs. She almost sounds _proud. _And she called me baby, instead of babe. I like baby better. It makes me feel...special, I guess. She called Beck babe all the time. I never heard her call him baby.

I smile and sag against her, laying my head on her shoulder. I can't help it. She's holding me, and rubbing my back. In the back of my mind, I remember that she just hurt me, but right now she's making me feel so good.

I mentally shake my head at myself. There's something seriously wrong with me.

"So, what'd you learn about calling me a freak?" Jade asks me after a moment of comfortable silence.

"That you _are _a freak." I answer immediately.

"Round two it is." She grunts before placing her hand on the back of my left knee.

"No more, mami Please." I plead. Hay diós, ya no más.

Whether or not Jade was going to have mercy on me, I'm saved by a knock on the door and a loud slurp.

Has to be Sikowitz.

"Shit, Vega, put your pants on!" Jade hisses. She's a bit loud, which means she probably wanted our audience to hear her tell me that.

But I can't put my pants on. I can't move the bottom half of my body.

And because of that, I slide to the ground when she pulls away from me. She ignores me in favor of searching for my pants. Once she finds them, she tosses them to me and tells me to get dressed.

I catch them just fine, but put them on by myself? No can do.

"Help me." I tell her.

She glares at me.

"Please," I beg, making sure my whine is as weak and pathetic and pitiful as possible.

There's another knock on the door. More urgent this time.

"Just give me a second!" Jade yells back before snatching my jeans out of my hands. She dresses me quickly, but gently, before pulling me up to my feet.

I wince. Sweet chiz. I'm gonna have to walk like I've been in a saddle for 36 hours straight!

Jade moves the equipment trolley from in front of the door while I lean against the ladder.

Once the door is opened, I gasp. It seems like _everyone _in the whole school is waiting in the hall; but the worst part is the fact that our friends, Sikowitz, and our guidance counselor, Lane, are the ones with the front row seats.

Jade walks out, cool and collected. I hobble out behind her, trying my best to walk normally, but I don't succeed.

"You…you_ broke_ her." Cat gasps, and when Jade sends a glare her way, she squeaks and runs away, no doubt so Jade can't break her either.

I don't know what color my face is right now. It could be red. I feel some heat there, but I seem to be alternating that with feeling flushed, like all the blood in my body has been drained from my body.

I find myself looking to the ground and waiting for this to all be over.

"Jade." Sikowitz pauses there to sip from his coconut. "Punish your girlfriend on your own time."

As morbidly embarrassed as I am, I just _have _to look up at him. Is he serious?

"That's it?" Lane counters. "That's all you have to say?"

"Jade punish your girlfriend uh…" Sikowitz scratches his head and stares at his coconut juice. "When else is she supposed to do it? Certainly not in the classroom. Who wants to see that?"

"I do!" Rex speaks up immediately.

Jade rips his arm off and throws it across the hall.

"Jade," Lane Sighs while pinching the bridge of his nose. "To the principal's office. Tori, follow me."

Jade rolls her eyes and kisses me on the mouth before doing as she was told.

I'm not as rebellious, so I quietly follow after Lane while trying my best to walk straight. I manage to tone my walk down to where it looks like I just have a really bad wedgie.

Once we make it to his office, he tells me to have a seat, which I do gratefully.

But that's all he says to me for a while. It takes me a minute to realize he's just staring at me, probably waiting for me to speak.

I keep my mouth shut though, because I don't know what the chiz I'm supposed to say. 'I'm sorry for splunking my girlfriend in the Janitor's closet, please don't expel me,' is _not _coming out of this girl's mouth.

"So, it seems we have a bit of a situation," Lane finally speaks. I barely have time to nod my head when he continues with, "I'm only going to assume you know that student copulation is prohibited on the property."

Face…red.

"And you do understand you don't have to do anything you don't want to do?"

He pauses there, so I nod my head.

"And you also understand that if another student forces you"-

"No, Jade didn't force me!" I speak up, forgetting to be embarrassed. "She's my girlfriend."

Lane gives me a speculating look; but then he lets me off with a warning. A _warning._ I swear I thought I was going to get expelled, or suspended at the very least!

I'm in such a good mood that I practically skip to my next class.

Of course, I'm somewhat of a klutz, so I end up literally bumping into someone; and not just anyone either. I run into Ryder Daniels, _the _hottest senior in the school.

"Hey, you're Tori, right?" He smiles.

My eyes go wide. He knows my name? How the heck does he know my name?

"Jade's girl?"

I start to blush. Oh, that's how. I suppose everyone at this school knows my name now.

"Yep, that's me," I smile back.

"You got a pen and paper?"

I frown a little, but dig in my bag to get it for him.

"Cool, I'm having a party at my place tonight, swing by. Bring anyone you want." He says as he scribbles his address down. Once he hands me my stuff, as well as his info, he winks and walks away.

Oh my god!

I hurry to my next class and sit down without so much as an apology for being late. Then I pull out my phone and begin texting Jade.

**Me: **Going to a party tonight. Wanna come?

**Jade: **Where?

**Me:** Ryder Daniels!

**Jade:** No. And you're not going either.

**Me:** Why not? Did you wanna do something tonight?

**Jade:** Nope.

**Me:** Are we gonna plan something for tonight now?

**Jade:** Nope.

**Me:** So why can't I go?

**Jade**: Because I said so.

I frown at the reply. Because she said so? That's why I can't go? She's not my mom!

**Me:** Fine, I'll see if André will come with me. Because I'm GOING!

**Jade:** fine. Go.

**Me:** I will.

**Jade:** Have fun.

**Me:** I will.

**Jade:** Make sure you can handle the consequences.

**Me:** I will.

Wait, what?

**Me:** What consequences, mami?

**Jade:** I like it when you call me that.

I smile at the text. There's a good chance she's being sarcastic, but I don't think she is. I noticed she's a little nicer to me when I call her mami, but I'm not going to overuse it. If I do that, she'll become immune to it.

I can't let that happen. A girl needs all the trump cards she can get when she's dating Jade West.

{~~~O~~~}

"Tori, you have a visitor!" My dad yells, and judging by his voice I can tell he doesn't approve of said visitor.

I frown and pull out my phone so I can see what time it is. It's only seven o'clock. I _shouldn't _have a visitor. It can't be André. He bailed out on the party because he's got to take care of his grandma. The crazy woman's freaking out because there's a "gobble monster" in the sink. And now André has to make sure she doesn't put her hands in the garbage disposal to try and get the monster to come out. So, I invited Cat; but I have to go pick her up, so it can't be her either.

I don't think Beck would come to my place, and Robbie had to take Rex to get stitches after Jade snatched his arm off.

Then I have a thought. What if it's Jade, my _girlfriend_?

Aw man, I didn't even tell my parents about her yet!

I dash out of my room and down the stairs, only to freeze on the second to last step.

Standing next to my father is Danny. _He's_ my visitor.

Upon seeing him, my first thought isn't one of disgust. It's one of anxiety mixed with a little bit of fear. Jade is going to absolutely murder me for letting him inside. And I'm not even the one who let him in!

"What are you doing here!?" I yell at him. I don't mean to. I know it's not his fault my girlfriend's crazy, but he _knows_ she all but hates him. Why would he risk coming to my house?

"You _didn't_ invite him?" My dad asks, voice full of relief. He doesn't even give me time to answer before he grabs Danny by the upper arm and starts pulling him toward the door. Needless to say, my papi doesn't too much like Danny.

"_Dad_." I groan.

"Yes, m'hija?" he answers absently, still pulling Danny toward the door.

I rush toward them, torn between telling my dad to let him go and wishing he'd throw him out quicker.

In the end, I just stay silent and let the scene play out.

My dad opens the door and there, in the doorway, with her hand poised as if she's about to knock, is my slack-jawed girlfriend.

Oh no. Oh, no, no, _no_, no, no.

"Jade?" I say a bit warily.

At the sound of my voice, her mouth snaps shut and her eyes harden.

"What. Is. He. _Doing._ Here!?"

I flinch. I hate it when she breaks up her sentences like that. I always feel like I'm gonna get it…and I_ already _got it today.

Danny flinches as well.

I can tell the sight is greatly amusing to my dad, because he pushes Danny toward Jade; probably hoping she'll hurt him in some kind of way. It seems he's instinctively picked up on the fact that Jade would like nothing better than to skin my ex-boyfriend alive; and I'd bet my life my dad would be willing to turn a blind eye to that particular crime. Cop or no cop.

"Babe, you better start talking." Jade demands through clenched teeth.

My eyes widen a little and I look to my father to see if he heard what she just called me.

He did.

"Babe?" he inquires, sending an unreadable look my way.

"I…um…" I stutter. Salty chiz on a cracker, this is_ not _the way I wanted to come out.

"You didn't tell your family!?" Jade screams, eyes getting wider, angrier.

Danny sends a triumphant smile my way; which is a mistake on his part as Jade's standing right in front of him.

She reaches up and grabs a fistful of his hair and yanks downward. Hard.

"Ow!" Danny cries.

Poor guy doesn't know what hit him. One second he's smiling back at me, and the next he's down on both knees in front of my girlfriend who still has a good chunk of his hair in her clenched fist.

Jade stoops a little so she's right at eye level with him and gives him one of _the_ most terrifying glares I've ever witnessed. "Leave." She growls. Her voice is incredibly low, but he hears her just fine. He literally runs away when she releases him.

My dad lets out a whistle and a chuckle.

I'm glad he found that so funny because I sure as heck didn't. That was downright terrifying to witness, and it made me realize something. I've never _truly_ seen a pissed off Jade until now. I thought I had, but I was wrong. Dead wrong. If she ever looks at me the way she just looked at Danny, I'll…I'll…I don't even know what I'll do short of wazz my pants.

"You gonna introduce your friend, m'hija," my dad asks, elbowing me in my rib. He likes Jade, and not just because she sent Danny away with his tail between his legs. I can tell. Hopefully he'll still like her after I tell him she's not just my "friend."

"Papi, this is Jade." I sigh. "She's my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" He frowns giving me this sideways look and an arched eyebrow. "Una _novia _y no una amiga?"

I nearly roll my eyes. He's switched to Spanish, probably not wanting to offend Jade when he asked me if she's my girlfriend or my _girlfriend. _

"Novia." I answer, letting him know that she's the latter.

"Es esto una etápa?"

"Papi, no." I roll my eyes. It's not really a lie. I'm not technically going through a phase. I'm just…helping out a friend.

"Te gustan las chicas?"

Hm. That's a hard one. Do I like girls? Before I kissed Cat and Jade, I would've been able to say no, but now…I honestly don't know.

"Me gusta Jade." I shrug. Hopefully telling him that I like Jade as opposed to girls in general is a good answer. It's evasive but simultaneously to the point.

Next thing I know, my dad gets down on both knees. I'm so sure he's about to make a scene, ask God why his baby girl had to be gay, but he does the opposite. He says, "Gracias Diós mio! Muchas gracias!"

He actually _thanks_ God!

What the heck?

Then he jumps up and pumps his fist in the air while shouting, "Yes!" at the top of his lungs.

I glance at Jade. She's still standing in the doorway, probably too afraid to come inside now.

"Papi? What are you doing?" I hiss.

He grabs my face and kisses my forehead soundly.

How humiliating!

"I'm not gonna end up being the father of one of those teenage pregnant girls." He sings while doing a very embarrassing jig.

Oh, just kill me now.

"Roll your eyes all you want, baby! You remember Josephina, Eddie's girl?" he's still practically singing his words.

I nod my head. Eddie's one of my dad's cop friends. I haven't seen his daughter in five years, since summer camp. Eddie and his wife got a divorce and Josephina moved out of state with her mother.

"She's a mother now." My dad says.

My mouth falls open. Josephina has a kid? Whoa.

"Uh-huh, Samantha, Natalie, Carmen…" he ticks off more daughters of his cop friends. "All have children."

"_What?_"

"Yeah, and Reyna"

"Not Reyna!"

"She's got two!"

"Two!" I gasp. _Reyna_ has two kids? She's like fifteen!

"Uh-huh, you see why I'm happy now? I'm not gonna be like Eddie or Bill or any of those other fathers!" he continues before grabbing me into a very big hug and giving me a twirl like I'm five years old. I haven't seen him that happy since his birthday. (He gets the same gift from mom every year. I try not to think about what it could possibly be as it involves me and Trina sleeping with ear plugs.)

As soon as he sets me down, he grins at me, then at Jade. I don't know why, but I feel the need to burst his bubble. "Maybe _I_ won't get pregnant, but there's still Tri"-

"_Trina_?" He interrupts before letting out a laugh so crudely loud, that I can't help but to laugh too.

The day Trina finds a boy who doesn't actually run from her will be the day me and Jade get married.

It's never gonna happen.

I look to Jade, to see if she's laughing too, but she's not. She's not even smiling. She looks like she's a little lost, maybe even uncomfortable.

I clear my throat. "Um, you wanna come in, Jade?"

She shakes her head. "No, I just came by to give you some flowers."

I narrow my eyes at her. "I don't see any flowers."

"They're in the car."

"Why did you leave them in the car?"

"Because I want to give them to you in the car." She forces out through pursed lips.

"Uh-oh" my dad elbows me in the rib again. "Either you're in trouble, or you're in _trouble_, but don't get into too much _trouble_. Even if you can't get pregnant, they're still rules, m'hija."

He lays a hand on my shoulder but I shrug it off. "_Papi_!" I groan. I can't believe he just said that!

I rush toward Jade, grab her hand, and lead her to her own car. I don't care if flowers is code for a pistol. I had to get outta there.

On second thought. This is Jade I'm dealing with….

"Um, you really got me flowers, Jade." I ask, somewhat nervously.

"Yep." She answers as she opens her back door and bends over.

I blink really hard. I just had a totally gay moment. I just caught myself staring at Jade's butt. I've never noticed before but it's…nice. I wonder how much she'd mind if I touch. Well, not right now, but sometime down the line. I mean, she is my girlfriend…

I'm so lost in my thoughts, I'm not even aware of Jade holding a bouquet of pretty orange flowers out to me until she thrusts them into my face.

I grab the stems out of reflex and smell the flowers….because that's what people are supposed to do when they get flowers. Oh, and they're supposed to say thank you as well, but I skip that part.

"What are these for?" I ask.

"Because I don't want you to go to Ryder's party." She answers.

It's an odd answer. I don't quite get it. Either, these are an apology for her trying to tell me what to do earlier; which I doubt. Or they're an invitation for us to do something together, _instead_ of going to the party. Or they're something else altogether

Suddenly, I don't feel so good. I feel sweaty, and shaky and swelly, almost like the time I…

I look down at the flowers, comprehension dawning on me. "Jade, what kind of flowers are these?" I snap.

"Bush daises."

"I'm allergic to bush daisies!" I yell, throwing the flowers.

"I know." She says, catching them easily.

"You _know_?"

"That's what I said. Have fun at Ryder's party, babe."

"Are you kidding me? I can't go to Ryder's party! My face is gonna swell up like a pumpkin and it won't be back to normal until tomorrow!"

"That's too bad," she answers, placing an absentminded kiss on my lips before getting in her car and driving away.

I fume as I watch the back of her car ride out of sight. She did this to me on purpose. She didn't want me to go to that party, and now I'm not going.

Jeez, does she _always _get what she wants? No matter what?

I don't know how long I'll be able to deal with that.

I don't even know how Beck dealt with that for so long. And _she_ broke up with _him_? It totally should've been the other way around.

Beck's a punk.

{~~~O~~~}

**Author's Note: **So, I made up a word. The Victorious cast never gave a slang word for sex, so hopefully "splunking" fits in with wazz and chiz and all that other stuff.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Okay so apparently I didn't make up a word. According to the urban dictionary "splunking" has like four different definitions, all of which are _quite_ disturbing. So for the purpose of this fic it's gonna mean plain old f-wording.

Also, I'm sorry but here's another long chapter. I know you guys claim you like long chapters, but the thing is I literally reread, and reworked, this chapter at _least _a dozen times. So you can imagine that right now it's both extremely long and boring to me. Hopefully you don't feel the same way;)

{~~~JADE~~~}

"Jade, wake up."

I ignore the voice, but I do flinch when my light is turned on. The sudden brightening of my room causes me to see red spots behind my eyelids.

Fuck.

Annoyingly soft hands are on my shoulder, shaking me gently. And though I'm barely conscious, I'm able to identify the person doing the shaking.

Amber.

Looks like Joy isn't_ truly_ wazzed off with me. Not that I care, but I can always tell how she's feeling toward me by which one of her brats she sends to my room.

If she's feeling pleasant, she sends Amber. The kid's too sweet for her own good. She'll wake me gently, a guarded smile on her face.

Surprisingly, Amber's the one sent to fetch me the most. I guess you could say Joy's built up quite the tolerance for me over the last twelve years. But when I _do _manage to piss her off, she sends Riley.

That little grunch always finds the most creative and annoying ways to rouse me. I swear, the only reason she's still alive is because her fearlessness impresses me. I've retaliated in some pretty violent ways toward the kid, but she seems to always bounce back, and with a wicked grin to boot.

Darwin says she should live. So, she lives.

"Jade, please wake up." Amber begs.

God, this kid is whiny as hell.

I open my eyes abruptly. And on purpose. As I knew she would, she jumps back with a gasp.

She hates it when I do that. It always reminds her of that one scene…the one all the "scary movies" that I've made her watch seem to have. The one where the killer or monster or villain or _whatever_ is laying still, eyes closed after being "defeated." Then the protagonist walks up to the "dead" beast, stupidly puts his/ her face near the monster's, and then wham! The killer opens its eyes abruptly and grabs the idiot.

It's totally classic and predictable as hell. Yet it scares a bucket full of wazz out of Amber every time.

I chuckle a little as I sit up. The sight of her paled face is so amusing that I momentarily forget to be pissed about her waking me up in the first place.

"Mom said to make sure you were up because Tori's gonna be here soon." She frowns back at me once she's regained her composure.

And just like that I'm no longer amused. I scowl back at her.

She flinches and apologizes, but I don't let up on my intense glare. I know it's not her fault, but she just reminded me of something that I'm really pissed off about.

I have to ride to school with Vega because Joy took away my wheels.

Now, Joy punishing me is not completely unheard of; so when she angrily barged into my room last Friday, I already knew what was up. There was no way the principle didn't call my stepmother up at work to let her know I'd fucked the hell out of my girlfriend in the janitor's closet. I mean he so much as told me he was going to do so right after giving me three weeks of detention.

And to be completely honest, I was fine with that. With most of it anyway. I _expected_ no less than for the principal to make a call to my "parent or guardian." I _expected_ no less than for Joy to get upset and bitch at me. I _even_ expected her to take my keys. But what I_ wasn't _expecting was for her to go on… and on… and_ on_…about my behavior, and my attitude, and my blah blah fucking blah. By the time she _finally_ got around to demanding for my keys, I handed them over without the slightest bit of my usual arguments and stalling. I wanted her to shut the hell up _that _bad.

That's when she let me know I wouldn't have them for two weeks. Two fucking weeks! She's never kept them that long before! She's never even kept them a full 24 hours!

I started arguing then, hoping she'd see reason when I mentioned the fact that I need my car to get to school, but she didn't. She told me I'd have to figure something out.

Bitch.

But I knew calling her a bitch wouldn't have helped me in the least. So, I switched tactics. I asked her how I was supposed to pick her brats up on Thursdays without a car.

I probably shouldn't have referred to the little pre-terds as brats, but still, you'd think she'd give in. You'd think she'd at least let me have my car on Thursdays, right?

Wrong.

Her answer was more or less the same. She still expected me to find a way to pick Thing One and Thing Two up from school.

She was _that _serious about not giving me my keys back.

I'll tell you, it pissed me off more than I'll ever be able to express. I think she honestly meant for me to use my allowance to catch a cab or something, but I'll be damned. I got a girlfriend with a car, and I told her as much.

The confession seemed to make Joy even happier. "I knew you'd think of something. You're such a resourceful girl." She smiled at me, and I wanted to smack that patronizing smirk off her face.

However, she _was _right. I _am_ resourceful. That fact was proven when I called Vega up to let her know she was going to be my ride for the next two weeks…and her answer had been no.

_No_… as in the letter N followed by the letter O.

She _actually_ said that to me.

Pissed off? Me? Nah. I surpassed that emotion. I was fucking livid! Who the hell did she think she was? And even if she was someone who could defy me without dire consequences, didn't I _just_ have a talk with her about being my girlfriend 24/7. And as my girlfriend she couldn't just refuse to help me out without a legit excuse. I mean, if she didn't have a car, fine. If she was too sick to get out of bed, understandable. If she was pissed off at me…

And that's when I remembered I swelled her face via bush daises so she couldn't go to Ryder's party. A Vega is allowed to get mad enough to refuse giving her girlfriend a ride to school if something like that happens. I guess.

So being the _resourceful _girl that I am, I blackmailed her. Yep, I threatened to tell her parents about what _supposedly_ happened in the janitor's closet Friday. It's only fair right? Joy knows because the principal called her up at work to tell her so, but Vega's parents weren't informed because Vega got off with a simple warning. A warning!

GRWLRUWL

I frown as my thoughts are interrupted by the sound of Amber's loud ass growling stomach.

"Get out of my room and go eat some damn breakfast!" I snap at her.

She jumps a little but doesn't leave.

"I can't." she whines.

I arch an eyebrow at her. "You're too young for a fucking eating disorder, bugger."

_Language! _Tori all but hisses at me, but I thoroughly ignore her. Hey, I still use the nicknames she made me give the twins. If I stop cursing them out too, they'll probably get it in their stupid heads that I love them or something like that.

"I don't have a eating disorder, Jade. I _want_ to eat."

"Then _go_."

"Mom said not to come down without you so we can all eat together."

I clench my fist together. It's an ultimatum. A subtle ultimatum, but an ultimatum nonetheless. If I skip breakfast, so does Amber. And no one, not even _me_, is heartless enough to make the girl go to school hungry. Riley, on the other hand, I'd do something like that to her in a heartbeat, but not Amber.

Joy knows this. That's why she sent her youngest up here to my room. She's trying to guilt trip me into eating.

I growl a little and hop out of bed.

Amber smiles; and I know the kid enough to know that it's not a smile of triumph. It's relief.

That makes me even angrier.

"Get out of my room!" I yell, approaching her in a very aggressive manner.

She ignores my yelling and grabs my hand. "Come on, Jade. Please." She tugs, trying to get me to follow her out of my room.

"NO!" I snatch my hand away and push her down. Not hard enough to seriously injure her, but hard enough so that she is indeed injured.

"Ow!" She cries.

"Out!" I yell.

The little retard stands up and grabs my hand again, tugging on it gently.

Seriously?

"Jade, I'm hungry. Please!" she whimpers.

And again, I snatch my hand out of hers and push her down.

My eyes flash dangerously at her, nonverbally telling her she better get the fuck out of my room. NOW!

But she refuses to take the hint. She can be quite stubborn when she wants. Almost like Vega.

She gets up and wipes tears from her eyes with the back of her wrist. Then she grabs my hand in what I can only guess is the tightest grip her little hand can manage and she starts to pull.

"Dammit Amber just go eat!" I yell; pushing her down for the third time.

When she falls this time, she doesn't land as hard; and it's not because I pushed her down softly. It's because she braced herself this time. She knew I was gonna push her, but she's determined to get me to come downstairs. She must be really hungry.

"But mom said I can't without you." She sniffs, standing up again.

I don't even wait for her to grab at my hand. In fact, I don't even wait until she's fully standing before I push her down again.

"umph" she grunts.

Before she gets back up, I kneel down beside her, grab a fistful of her shirt, and pull until my eyelashes are touching hers.

"Go. Eat." I command.

"But"-

"Eat!"

"But I"-

"No. Eat." I cut her off again and her bottom lip begins to tremble.

"_Please_." She begs.

Ugh! This kid is so stupid! I have absolutely_ no_ intention of going downstairs to eat breakfast with the "family," and the brat seems determined to try and get me to do so anyway. At this rate, she _will _end up missing breakfast.

No more nice Jade. It's time to make this kid scream.

I let go of her shirt, grab on to her ear, and pull her up to a standing position.

"Ow! Jade! Ow!" She gasps, scrunching her eyes tightly.

"I don't care what your mom said! Go eat!"

"Let go, please." She whines while hopping up and down and tugging at my wrist.

I don't let go.

"Have I made myself clear?" I growl.

She starts crying. Gross. I hate it when she cries. She always gets snot everywhere.

"Jade, please come." She blubbers.

Obviously, I _haven'_t made myself clear enough.

I twist her ear and pull on it a little harder.

Her breath catches and her eyes snap open. She looking straight into my eyes but I don't know if she's really focused on anything in particular. She takes a deep breath and lets out the most eardrum shattering scream I've heard from her yet.

"Out!" I yell. Though I doubt she hears me.

"MOMMY!" She screams.

_Finally_!

Joy doesn't really respond to screaming in general. The brats do a lot of that. Sometimes when they're excited. Sometimes when they're playing a game. Sometimes when they're mad at me. Sometimes when they're mad at each other, And sometimes for no fucking reason at all. So there's this weird little rule that we have here. If someone calls for her, if they specifically scream her name, be it Mom or Joy, _that's _when she comes running.

And fast.

Amber barely gets the last syllable out before Joy's in my room and snatching the brat out of my grasp. Amber doesn't dawdle. She runs passed her mother and out of my room.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Joy screams at me.

"Me!?" I yell back. "What were you thinking?!"

She blinks at me. Probably wondering how the hell I can blame the fact that I hurt her kid on _her_.

"Why would you tell her she can't eat unless I go downstairs and eat too? I don't do _family _breakfasts and she's _starving_! You tried to guilt trip me by sending her!"

"So you hurt her!?" She screams incredulously. "You didn't think to just come downstairs and talk to me!"

"Maybe I don't want to talk to you!"

"Yet here I am!"

"I didn't say anything about not wanting to yell at you!" I shout back.

"You…you're un-freaking believable, you know that?" she mutters, turning away from me. Obviously she's trying to reign herself in.

She's winding down

Damn. I thought I had her that time. I've been trying to piss Joy off to the point where she uses all kinds of swear words for years now. It's in her vocabulary. I know it is. I heard her thoroughly chew my dad out once when I was about nine.

"No keys until I see a change in you young lady." She says, turning back to me once she's calm.

"What?" I yell. "What kind of change?" Not that it matters. Any change Joy is talking about is gonna take me forever to achieve. And even longer to convince her that I have indeed changed.

"A good one." She retorts. "And you owe your sister an apology." And with that she turns on her heels and leaves my room.

I shower quickly, fuming the entire time.

I get dressed just as fast, barely paying attention to what I'm actually wearing. Good thing for me, my wardrobe is pretty simple. Most my tops match most of my bottoms, so I'm good no matter what I pull out. Same goes for my shoes.

I'm putting on my second boot when I hear a hunk outside.

Vega's here.

I rush downstairs and on my way to the door I hear Riley say, "You should've kicked her in the nads."

Obviously she's talking to Amber.

I make a detour, heading for the dining room. They're both there, eating breakfast. _Both_ of them. I don't care how wrong Joy thinks I went about it; I sacrificed my car keys so that Amber could eat breakfast.

I'm a fucking martyr.

"She doesn't _have _nads, Riley." Amber says with her head down. And because of that, she doesn't see me walk up behind her sister. Not that she would have warned her per se, but her eyes would've widened and Riley would've known I'm behind her.

Not that she would've hesitated to say what she says next. Which is: "It still would've hurt, stupid."

I smack Riley in the back of the head.

"Ow!" She exclaims before whirling around and taking a swipe at me.

She misses.

"Don't call her stupid. One of us has got to love the little pre-terd and it's going to be you. Got it?" I tell her, ignoring the fact that she just tried to punch me.

She scowls back at me. Then suddenly, she grins.

I know that grin. She's gonna do something I won't like so I brace myself.

She bolts from the table and heads outside, slamming the door shut behind her.

What the fuck?

There's another hunk outside, longer and more urgent this time. Probably because stupid Vega doesn't want to be late to school.

I roll my eyes, about to follow behind Riley when I hear the sound of a throat being cleared behind me.

Joy.

That's right, she wants me to apologize.

Fine. I'll apologize.

"Bugger, your mother wants me to tell you I'm sorry even though she knows I'm not." I monotone and roll my eyes. An extra emphasis on how I do _not _want to do this.

"I guess you'll start changing tomorrow, huh?" Joy questions, not-so-subtly reminding me of the stipulations regarding getting my car back_ and_ implying that I've already failed today.

I narrow my eyes at her. She gives me a smile before walking away.

Ugh. I _really_ don't like her.

I turn my attention back to Amber, and she's staring back at me with a genuine smile on her face. "It's okay, Jade." She forgives me way too easily.

Fuck. I'm going to have to learn how to get away with murder. Literally. I'm going to have to learn how to murder some Dick, get rid of his body plus all of the evidence, _and_ stay out of jail so that I can repeat the process if necessary because of the little pre-terd in front of me.

I hurt her. On purpose. Then I gave her a half-assed apology, and she responds with a smile so big there's gooey love oozing out of her sockets? She's every fucking spouse abuser's wet dream! And if some Dick, or Jane, decides he or she wants to wife and abuse this kid, I'm going to have to kill 'em. period.

I give Amber a fierce glare before heading out, one that makes her smile drop. Stupid kid's gonna be the reason I go to jail. And I'm not looking forward to that. Maybe I can talk to Vega's cop dad. Subtly milk some pointers on what _not_ to do if I don't want to get caught out of him…

When I get outside, I see where Riley'd gone. She's with Vega. They're both sitting on the trunk of her car, _talking_.

Not good.

"Let's go, Vega!" I call.

She ignores me_. Completely_. I mean, she doesn't even look up to scowl at me.

"Jade, wait!" I hear Amber call from behind me.

I'm tempted to ignore her but I don't. I turn around and she all but skids to a stop in front of me.

"I got this for you." She says as she hands me a pop tart. I hate eating breakfast but I love pop tarts. They literally give me a toothache. Every time.

I take the wrapped pastry from her without thanking her.

"I'm really sorry I screamed for mom and got you in trouble." She apologizes. And it's a heartfelt apology at that. It's coming from deep within her tiny little soul.

My eyes go wide. I'm really gonna have to do it. I can see it. I'm really going to have to kill people. She apologized for getting help? She apologized because I hurt her so bad she had to get her mother to stop me? What does that mean for her future? Does it mean that if she ever got married and her husband decided to shoot her in the leg, and the neighbors so happened to call the police because she screamed too loud, she's going to what? Visit him in jail and apologize to the fucking bastard.

I'm seething as I watch the scene play out in my mind's eye. I'm so fucking pissed off about it I clench my fists together, squishing the pop tart.

"Jade? What's wrong? It's the right kind, right?" Amber panics, eyes going just as wide as mine.

I throw the stupid pop tart down. It's not about the fucking pop tart! It's about the stupid little girl in front of me who needs to grow a pair.

"NO!" I scream.

Amber jumps and lets out a horrified squeak before covering her ears with her palms.

There's a sharp pain to my shin, and I immediately know that I've been kicked by Riley. She's the only one brave enough to do that shit.

_At least I don't have to worry about her._

Still, I whirl around, grab on to the little terd, and put her in a headlock. "Riley, I swear to God if you ever put your filthy foot on me again…" I threaten.

"Jade, let her go." Vega says while tugging on my arm, trying to free the kid.

Not happening. Not until I'm done….

And now I'm done.

I let Riley go just as Joy steps out of the house, both girls' book bags in her hand. Apparently, she didn't see the way I handled the brats because she's smiling as she heads this way.

"Hello Tori it's so nice to see you again." Joy greets my girlfriend with a genuine smile. One that confuses the hell out of me. The last time Joy saw Vega, the girl had no clothes on.

Vega looks surprised for a second, perhaps remembering the last time Joy had seen her as well, but then she smiles. "Hello, Mrs. West."

"Oh, you can just call me Joy."

Vega's smile widens.

"Hey, I have a favor to ask of you sweetie." Joy says, surprising both me and Vega. What the hell could she possibly be asking of a girl she only met once?

"Oh, okay."

"On Thursdays, Jade has to pick up the girls from school, but um as you know…"

"Sure it's no problem." Vega visibly relaxes as if she's been let off the hook. But she hasn't. I doubt she even understands what Joy is asking of her. If she did, her face would be registering the very _opposite_ of relief.

"Wha…what?" Joy stammers. Apparently she agrees with my thoughts.

"You want me to pick up the girls from school on Thursdays, right?" Vega confirms that she does indeed understand what is being asked of her.

"_Really_?" Joy smiles. "I didn't get to the part where I bribe you with"-

"It's okay." Vega waves her off.

"Well, Okay. I'll call the school and put you on the pick-up list. Just make sure you have your ID." Then she turns to me. "Jade, have a good day at school." She says with a quick touch to my arm.

_Fuck you! _I think so vehemently I know Joy knows what I'm thinking because she pulls her hand back rather quickly.

_Jade… _Tori reprimands.

"Bye," I grunt. I already have to deal with a wazzed off Vega. I don't feel like being nagged by Tori as well.

"Bye sweetheart. Girls, get in the car." Joy says, giving me and Vega one last wave before ushering her little monsters away in a hurry. Probably so Vega can't change her mind.

Vega's smile drops as soon as she's left alone with me and she walks over to the driver's side without saying a single word to me.

This shit is gonna get old fast.

I get in on the passenger side, slam my door shut, and stare out the window.

"Put your seatbelt on." Vega commands.

I glare at her.

She reaches over me and grabs the seatbelt for me.

"Vega…" I warn.

"Here," she says offhandedly while handing me a cup of coffee. It's exactly what I need, so I don't question it in the least. I just grab the cup out of her hand and start sipping.

It's so good. It's made just the way I like it.

I'm so distracted that I don't realize Vega is putting my seatbelt on for me until I hear the distinctive click of the restraint.

I narrow my eyes at her. I feel like she tricked me, or manipulated me, or something. I feel violated.

She ignores me, opting to start her car up and drive off.

I take my seatbelt off, getting ready for a fight because she's undoubtedly going to yell at me for undoing her handiwork.

She doesn't say a thing. She ignores me. _Completely_. It's as if she doesn't even realize I'm in the car with her, let alone that I'm no longer wearing the stupid seat belt.

I keep my mouth shut. I know what she's doing. She wants me to crack. She wants me to get so irritated by the fact that she's ignoring me that I tell her to stop, that I _demand_ for her to drop it.

I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to give her the satisfaction of knowing she got to me.

Her phone buzzes and I get pissed off. I can't help it. Even if I wasn't in a cranky mood already, I'd still be pissed. It's too early in the morning for texting. And who the heck is texting her this early in the morning anyway?

She waits until she gets to a stop light before pulling her phone out of her pocket and responding.

Nerd.

"Who is that?" I ask, curiosity getting the best of me.

"Melissa." she answers shortly.

I was actually expecting her to either ignore me or tell me it's none of my business. But getting an honest answer from her doesn't make me feel better in the least. Not when her answer is _Melissa._

"Wazzbag's girl?" I frown.

"No, Melissa Belle."

Smartass.

"Well what does she want this early in the morning?"

"Not you."

She barely looks at me as she responds.

I roll my eyes and stare out the window again. I can tell it's going to be another bad day at Hollywood Arts.

And I'm right. The second we enter the school, the whispers start. But that's not the bad part. In fact, that's the highlight of my day so far. I like it when people are talking about me. Whether the gossip's good or bad, matters not. And the fact that they're whispering about what I did with my girlfriend in the janitor's closet….

Good gossip.

The bad part happens as soon as Vega gets to her locker. Fuckin' Ryder shows up out of nowhere and starts talking to her.

I throw everything into my locker and pull out what I need for homeroom quickly before walking up to Vega. I missed a lot of what was said between them, but I hear enough to know he's invited her to another party.

Fucker.

I wrap an arm around Vega's waist. Possessively. She's still ignoring me so she doesn't look over at me, not even to see who's just put their hands on her.

"Hey, Jade." Ryder greets me with a perverted ass looking wink.

"Bye Bitch." I greet back.

He gives me a small smirk before walking away.

I hate that guy.

Vega slams her locker door shut, startling the crap out of me. Then she walks away. She doesn't tell me I was out of line. She doesn't look at me. She just…walks away.

Okay, this shit is starting to tick me the fuck off.

"Jade."

I groan and turn around. It's Beck. And he's got that serious "we need to talk" face.

We don't need to talk. We really, _really, _don't.

"You're not going to walk me to all my classes again are you? Seriously, my girlfriend's already pissed off at me." I pinch the bridge of my nose and pray for patience because this is Beck; the guy I love, and the reason I'm dating Vega in the first place. So I have no idea why I'm feeling so irritable around him.

"Well, can you blame her?"

I frown at him. He knows about the bush daises?

"Look, Jade. I don't know how you got Tori to date you." I roll my eyes and grab onto my forehead, as if that will keep my brain from exploding. I can't believe he's on this again. "But I figured if she really wanted out, she'd find a way. Then Friday I realized that whatever you have on her has to be so bad that she _can't_ get out, considering she's still pretending to be your girlfriend even after whatever you did to her in that janitor's closet."

"Beck," I interrupt, but he cuts me off.

"Jade…you really _hurt_ her. You can't _do_ that to people."

Denial. Dude's in serious, _serious_, denial. This is gonna be my least favorite stage.

"God Beck, get over yourself. I didn't hurt her okay? I fucked her!" I hiss exasperatedly.

"You expect me to believe that?" He scoffs.

I don't answer him. I push past him and start walking to class. I don't need this shit.

"Jade!" he calls. "We're gonna finish this talk sooner or later!"

"Later!" I yell back and walk even faster. I'm actually going to be early to first period for the first time this year. At this moment, I really don't see how my day can get any worse.

It does.

Four hours later I find myself sitting with my, well, they're not really my friends; but I'm sitting with Beck, Cat, André, Robbie, and Vega at The Asphalt.

Naturally, I was expecting Vega to sit next to me so she can leech off my plate, but she doesn't. She's sitting next to Cat, and she's bought her own lunch.

Okay, fine. She's mad at me so I can't be too surprised; but since she's been giving me the silent treatment all day, I was kind of expecting her to be silent at the lunch table too.

She's not.

She's her regular chipper self…with everyone but me.

She doesn't talk to me. She doesn't look at me. It's like I don't exist for her.

What's worse? I let her get away with it. I absolutely refuse to acknowledge the fact that she's doing it. Especially in front of an audience. I'd rather it seemed I'm not bothered by Vega's silent treatment.

I pull out my phone and plug in my ear buds. Everyone knows not to talk to me when I'm listening to my music. It won't seem odd that Vega's not talking to me if no one's talking to me, right?

That doesn't stop Beck from fucking with me.

I'm two songs in when he pulls an ear bud out of my ear.

"What!" I snap.

"I said, "What's going on with you two?"" He smiles while pointing from me to Vega.

Vega turns her attention from André to Beck. Apparently she didn't hear him ask that the first time either.

"Mind your own business." I glare before shoving my ear bud back in.

"Tori?" I hear him question and I snatch my ear buds out.

"Leave her alone," I growl. But of course Vega ignores my attempt to keep our little fight between the two of us.

"What do you mean?" she asks Beck.

"I mean, you haven't said anything to Jade all day. Did you guys break up over the weekend?" He chuckles, pretending to be joking.

Everyone frowns as they contemplate Beck's observation. It seems none of the others noticed anything was different between me and Vega.

Morons.

"No." Vega says as she stabs her salad with her fork. "I'm just mad at her right now."

"Mad?" Beck patronizes. "Why? Did she get you in trouble with the closet stunt Friday?"

Vega frowns. "What closet - Oh!" her eyes widen, as she realizes what he was referring to and she surreptitiously checks her surroundings before hissing, "Don't talk about that! If Trina finds out my parents will mysteriously find out too!" She puts air quotes around the word mysteriously.

Beck looks confused. Serves him right. He was so sure Vega was mad about the "closet stunt" as he called it. The fact that she didn't even know what the chiz he was initially talking about means there's no way she was upset over that.

But he recovers quickly. "So how come you're mad at her?" He asks point blank.

"It's none of your business." I hiss.

"She gave me a bouquet of bush daises." Vega answers.

"It's none of his business." I glare at her.

She ignores me. No surprise there.

"You're mad at her because she gave you flowers?" André questions. Bet that fucked him up in the head. André doesn't like to be confused. And a girl getting flowers is not supposed to be a bad thing. Ever. Ergo, he's confused.

"I'm allergic to bush daises." Vega explains with a rather violent stab to her lettuce.

"It's none of his business either!" I continue to glare at her. And though she's absolutely refusing to look at me, I know she can feel my gaze on her.

Robbie decides it's his turn to ask a question. "Why'd you…" he trails off when I turn my glare on him. He shudders and I wonder if I made him wet his pants a little.

I like doing that.

"Because she didn't want me to go to Ryder's party." Vega decides to answer Robbie's unfinished question.

Chick just won't take a fuckin' hint, will she?

Cat opens her mouth. I know she's about to ask me why I didn't want Vega to go to Ryder's party and that's just not a question I want to answer.

"NO!" I scream at her.

She squeaks and heavily drops her forehead onto Vega's shoulder.

"Hay! Cat!" Vega yells, and no one can blame her for it either. That shit looked like it hurt. Despite the way Cat acts, her head isn't hollow.

Cat squeaks again after being yelled at by Vega and covers her ears with her hands, but she doesn't lift her head up.

Vega turns a little and begins to pat Cat's head awkwardly before manually pulling the girl's hands away from ears. "Aw, I'm sorry Cat. It's okay." Vega croons.

Gross.

Cat shakes her head. Obviously, it's not okay. And there's only one way to make a Cat happy after you make it sad.

Vega sighs. "You wanna go to Freezy Queen after school?" She offers.

"Yay!" Cat sits up, instantaneously happy again.

"You guys in?" Vega asks, and of course everyone says yes. Obviously it'll be her treat as she was the one who did the offending of the Cat.

"What time?" André asks.

"5:30 good?" Vega asks, looking at everyone but me.

If she thinks I'm not going to Freezy Queen on her tab….wait. How is she going to pay for Freezy Queen? In fact, how'd she even pay for lunch? She doesn't have any money. She gave it to me already, right? Unless…

Vega's been holding out.

"What happened to you saving up?" I ask suspiciously, hoping she's smart enough to understand what I'm _really_ asking.

"It's birthday money." She shrugs. "I can spend that."

And I'm smart enough to understand she's telling me our agreement was that I'd get her allowance and her lunch money. I never asked for anything she gets on the side.

Smart girl, but birthday money? That doesn't add up.

"You're birthday's not for two more months." I narrow my eyes at her.

Vega's jaw drops and her eyes seem to double in size. "You…you know my birthday?"

I scowl back at her. Of course I know her birthday. "I do my research." I answer. "Now stop trying to change the subject."

"Wait, you don't know _my_ birthday." Beck frowns at me.

"What? Yes I do!" I answer quickly. Too quickly.

"Then when is it?" He seems to be a bit angry, and I can't really blame him. I'm just now realizing that I _don't _know his stupid birthday.

"I know the month!" I snap before gathering my stuff and getting up.

"Where are you going?" Beck asks, obviously wanting to talk more about the fact that I was dating him for forever and didn't know his birthday while I've only been dating Vega for a little more than a week and I know hers. But that's really not my fault. I _had_ to learn Vega's birthday. I had to pretend to be her all day a couple weeks ago. I couldn't very well be Tori and not know my own fucking birthday, now could I?

"You people give me a rash!" I hiss at him before making my way toward my girlfriend.

"Don't forget. I get out of detention at four." I say, reminding her that she's my ride before leaning in for a quick kiss.

She snaps her head back, ducking my lips. "I'm still mad you." She scowls.

I roll my eyes, playing off the irritation of being rejected in front of everyone. "No tongue then." I shrug and lean in again.

Truthfully, I've never put my tongue in her mouth before. She's my girlfriend, sure, but first and foremost this is an _act_. There's no tongue needed when kissing her.

"_Jade…_" Vega protests, leaning back even more.

I let out a frustrated growl. "And when are you gonna not be mad at me anymore?" I snap impatiently.

"When you apologize for giving me a bouquet of bush daises!" She fires back.

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Four o'clock." I say. One last reminder of what time to pick me up from detention.

"Yeah, yeah…I know."

I move in to kiss her and she bites the shit out of my lips. Fuck. I think she was actually tryingto draw blood this time.

I really should've seen that coming.

{~~~O~~~}

Vega seems to have regrouped since lunch. It's like she's realized she talked to me and is now on a mission to make up for that.

She came back to school, (or she never left I don't know which it is) and waited for me to get in the car. When I greeted her, her eyebrow didn't so much as twitch, and then she was driving away.

I did my best to get her to talk to me. I insulted her driving, her music, the smell of her car.

Nothing.

I even went as far as to unbuckle her seat belt a couple of times, but that got boring real fast. She would just buckle it back. She didn't even sigh out of exasperation.

Do you know how that shit feels? To be ignored in such a drastic way? It feels like…like…_shit_. It feels like you don't matter.

And I fuckin' matter dammit!

I fume silently, staring out my window. I'm not gonna let Vega get to me. I'm not going to let her silence break me. I don't break.

Once Vega gets to my house, I lie to her. "Come inside. Joy wants to talk to you." I tell her.

She unbuckles and heads toward my door without questioning me in the slightest. And not just because she's not talking to me, but probably because she thinks Joy wants to smooth out any wrinkles considering her brats and the fact that Vega will be picking them up for her.

I unlock the door and head toward my room. "She'll be here soon." I call over my shoulder.

Truth is, Joy won't be home for about twenty minutes. By the time she gets here, Vega will have to head straight for Freezy Queen in order to make it by 5:30. Then I'll just hop in the car and go with her.

What? I couldn't chance her being all attitudey and not wanting to come pick me up if she'd gone home; and I sure as hell am not asking Beck for a ride so he can torture the heck out of me with his millions of questions.

To my surprise, Vega follows me up to my room. I expected her to sit out in the living room and wait for Joy.

I don't say anything about it to her though. It's not like I'll get a response.

Vega walks over to my bed and makes herself comfortable. Too comfortable. She actually sits on my pillow! I don't want Vega butt on my pillow!

"Get off!" I yell at her.

She ignores me.

I walk up to her but just as I get in front of her she pulls out her phone and gives it her full attention.

She's ignoring me.

I snatch my pillow from underneath her. She barely blinks. And she most definitely doesn't look up from her phone.

She's ignoring me!

I can't take this shit anymore!

I don't know what possesses me to do it; perhaps I want to be in a position where she _can't _ignore me, where she _has_ to acknowledge my existence, but I plop into her lap, straddling her thighs.

"Stop ignoring me." I command

"I'm still mad at you." She deadpans.

I scowl back at her. So what if I didn't let her go to the party. That's not my fault. It's Tori's. Yeah, Tori. _I_ was fine with it. _I _was gonna let Vega go, but Tori made me change my mind. She was all, _'You can't let Vega go! You can't, you can't, you can't…'_ until I was like, _Fine, I won't. Just shut the fuck up!_

Of _course_ when I told Vega not to go she got all stubborn and basically told me she was going no matter what, so I had to physically stop her by getting her a bouquet of bush daises.

Truthfully, Tori didn't agree with the flowers at first; but then I entertained the thought of holding Vega hostage in my closet, gagged and bound while I poke and prod her so I can hear her make some more noises like the ones she made in the janitors closet because those were so, _so_, delicious. When Tori realized I was seriously contemplating doing that, she quickly agreed that giving Vega lethal flowers was the nicest way to go about keeping my girlfriend away from Ryder Daniel's party.

The sound of Vega tapping away at her screen is what brings me back to the present.

She's ignoring me again. How can _anyone _ignore a lap full of Jade?

_Maybe_ it's time to switch tactics 'cause my girlfriend's uber stubborn. She's kinda reminding me of Amber right now.

"Vega," I sigh. "You're…you're a nice girl."

She looks up at me. I've never really complimented her before, but this isn't just a compliment. I'm trying to explain something very important to her.

"And Ryder, he's not a very nice guy." God that sounds stupid. "Okay?" I ask, hoping she understands what I'm trying to say so that I don't have to go into details. _That _was seriously hard enough as it is.

Vega stares back at me, a disturbing and calculating stare. Then she shrugs. "Okay." She says before turning back to her phone.

Seriously?

"Okay what?" I scowl.

"Okay." She shrugs again. "Ryder's not a nice guy. I'll stay away from him."

She got it. She got what I was trying to say, yet she's still mad at me. Why the fuck is she still mad at me?

_You didn't apologize yet, Jade._

Tori's right, but that doesn't mean a thing to me 'cause I'm _not _apologizing.

Not that I would've had the chance to if I _was _going to, because my door's opened and two little terds walk in.

"What the fuck do you want?" I scowl at the both of them.

"Language, Jade." Vega and Tori reprimand me at the same time.

I ignore them.

"Mom sent us in here." Riley casually shrugs as she walks into my room and plops down onto my bed beside me. _She's_ not upset by my language.

"Why?" I scowl at her.

"Cock-blocking duty." She says while cocking her head to the side and staring at us pointedly.

"Oh, God." Vega groans.

It's then that I realize I'm still straddling my girlfriend.

"Go find something else to do." I take a swipe at the little brat, but she easily dodges me.

"Nah, I'd rather be here."

Goddamn perv.

"Where _is_ your mom?" Vega speaks up, pushing me off of her lap; and I remember how I told her that Joy wanted to talk to her.

Apparently, she can't wait to get out of here. And neither can I.

"She's downstairs with a client." Amber offers from the door way. She never exactly made it into my room. She's a smart kid….sometimes.

"Okay," Vega hops up and practically runs downstairs. I follow after her. And the terds follow me.

"Oh, Vega, I lied to you." I say as soon as we're in the presence of Joy and man I've never seen before. "Joy didn't want to talk to you." I smirk.

"I figured as much." She shrugs back.

That surprises me. "So why'd you stay?" I frown.

She smiles at me. The first time today, yet it makes me feel a bit wary. I don't like it.

"Um, Joy?" she says, interrupting Joy's meeting.

Joy turns around, with a bit of a frown on her face. Possibly because she doesn't recognize the voice calling her name. But when she sets eyes on Vega, she smiles. "Hey sweetie. Allen these are my daughters," she says, stepping aside so "Allen" can get a look. "Jade, Riley and Amber. And this one's Tori, Jade's girlfriend."

I really wish Joy would stop introducing me as her daughter. Trust me, I've told her countless times that I'm not her daughter and that she's not my mother, but her introduction is always the same. It's always: "So and so, these are my daughters, Jade, Riley and Amber." In that order.

"Nice to meet you." Allen says, and gives us a little wave. I ignore him as well as the way his eyes linger on me and Vega.

Perv.

"Um, I'm sorry to bother you, Joy." Vega starts off with an uncertain smile. "But I was wondering… me and Jade are gonna go meet some friends at Freezy Queen. Do you mind if we take the girls too?"

The twins' eyes light up at the prospect of getting treated to one of their favorite places in the world. Riley's because she loves food and Amber's because the little weirdo likes being near me for more than a few minutes at a time.

"Mind?" Joy scoffs disbelievingly.

I, on the other hand, am glaring at Vega. She's _punishing _me? Who the fuck does she think she is?!

"If you're worried about spoiling their appetite I guess I can get them a burger or something first." Vega continues whiles inconspicuously stepping away from me so I can't kick the shit out of her.

"Of course I don't _mind_." Joy grins at Vega. Then she pulls out a couple twenties and shoves them in her hand. "My treat."

Vega blushes, _actually_ blushes, as she stammers out her thanks.

'Keep her,' Joy mouths to me on our way out.

I scowl back at her. I can't wait to get _rid _of her.

Freezy Queen's not far away, but with Thing One and Thing Two in the back seat it might as well be in outer space. It's not like they're arguing or anything sensible like that. It's the singing. Sometimes I doubt they're related to me. They can't carry a tune to save their lives.

"No!" I scream as they murder, and I mean absolutely_ murder_ an already annoying pop song Vega's got playing.

They both go quiet immediately, but in different ways. Riley scowls at me and gives me the finger. Amber snaps her mouth shut, her eyes going round and bright. If the kid cries I swear to God…

Vega turns the music up much louder and starts singing at the top of her lungs. And not only is she singing at the top of her lungs, but she's off key.

On purpose.

I'd rather listen to the twins. That's how bad it is.

I stare at her. She's gonna be my guinea pig. She's gonna be the first person I kill to see if I can _really _get away with it.

Then Riley starts singing again and I swear, I _swear_, she's gonna be next. Maybe I'll even do them both on the same day.

But for now, I reach over and turn the radio off.

They. Keep. Fucking. Singing.

And it's even worse acapella!

_And_ they don't stop until they finish the whole song. The whole fucking song!

"Nice, Riley." Vega chuckles once they're done. Then she throws her hand back behind her, palm up. "Five." She says.

Riley smirks back before slapping Vega's hand.

Thank God only one of them is like that. If Amber had joined in too…

I guess Vega's noticed how quiet Amber's been as well because once we get to a red light, she turns in her seat, facing Amber, and says, "You okay back there, mamita? You're so quiet."

I gape at my girlfriend. I just realized something. She hasn't called me mami all day. Not once. I _like_ it when she calls me that. She _knows_ that. I told her so. And now she wants to go around calling a brat _Mamita_?

It's too close. _Way_ too close.

I glare at Vega. I have a feeling she did that on purpose.

As a response to my soon-to-be dead girlfriend's question, Amber gives Vega an uncertain nod of her head. She's noticed the way I'm glaring at her and it's making the kid uneasy.

Vega smiles back. "You sure? I can always kick Jade out." She jokes.

"Do it!" Riley laughs.

I switch my glare from Vega to Riley.

"Do it, Tori!" she repeats defiantly.

"Shh, monstrito. Your sister's got the floor." Vega winks.

And just like that, Riley shuts up. What the hell? The little terd never listens to _me_.

"I'm good, Tori." Amber smiles shyly after a beat.

"Okay." Vega gives Amber one last smile before turning her eyes on the road.

We get to Freezy Queen five minutes later. I'm the first out, followed by Riley. She all but runs up to Vega.

I narrow my eyes when I see her whispering in Vega's ear. What could she possibly have to say to her? Which reminds me… What the heck were they talking about this morning?

Then I see Vega's eyebrow dip and she chuckles. "That's what you want to use it for?" she says.

I have no idea what the fuck that means, and it makes even less sense when both Vega and Riley duck down. Seconds later they're back up, but Vega's got a Riley on her back.

Huh?

Vega walks past me as if it's normal to piggy back people around. Not even bothering to explain. Not that I expect her to. She still mad at me.

"There goes Cat!" Riley shouts.

She's never officially met Cat before, but I described her to the twins once. And once is all it takes to get a vivid visual of the girl.

"HI, HI! Tori! HI, HI Jade!" Cat runs up to the both of like an eager puppy. It's so weird how I've always thought of her as more of a k-9 than a cat.

"My turn! I wanna ride!" Cat squeals.

"Um later, it's Riley's turn now." Vega answers.

I roll my eyes. Not at the fact that Cat obviously asked for a piggy back ride, but at the fact that Vega more or less agreed to give her one.

"Can we go inside now?" I ask impatiently. Standing around in an empty parking lot isn't my idea of a good time.

"We gotta wait for the others." Vega responds to me, but her tone is more or less lifeless.

"Can't we wait _inside_?"

She ignores me.

I pretend not to care.

The first person in our "group" other than Cat to arrive is Beck.

Man I really don't feel like seeing Beck right now.

"Hey ladies. Girls." He winks at the twins.

"'Sup" Riley nods, and Vega leans forward a little so she can give Beck five

Amber just waves and moves to stand a closer to me. I pretend not to notice.

André's next to arrive. I'm surprised. He's usually the latest as he's always got last minute grandma issues.

I cross my arms over my chest and tap my foot restlessly while everyone greets André as if they didn't just see him a few hours ago.

"And these must be the terrible duo Jade's told us absolutely nothing about." André says once he gets a look at my sisters.

"I'm not terrible. Jade's just stupid." Riley rebuttals.

André and Cat gasp, probably wondering how this kid is still alive. Everyone else doesn't even bat an eyelash. They're familiar with Riley's ways.

You'd think she would've changed them by now, but like I mentioned before. The kid's got guts. She's not afraid.

Still, there should be some reprecussions.

So, I smack Riley's butt so hard Vega stumbles a little.

"Jade!" She yells at me, turning so that I no longer have easy access to the brat. Then she turns her head a little so she can face the kid. "You okay, monstrito?"

"Yep. Lemme down."

Vega does so, and Riley approaches me. I give her a warning glare. She does _not_ want to start with me right now. There's no Joy to save her.

"Think terd. Your mommy's not here to save you."

"Yeah, but you're gonna look stupid running around chasing a kid," she says before kicking the shit out of me and running off. I don't hesitate. I chase. I'm gonna kill.

Riley runs to Beck and hides behind his back.

I don't stop trying to get at her.

"Jade stop." Beck commands, putting a hand to my chest.

"The little shit kicked me."

"You hit her."

"She called me stupid."

Riley peeks from around Beck's back. "You _are _stupid."

I reach for her once again.

"Robbie's here!" Cat squeaks, momentarily distracting me.

I look over at her. She's on Vega's back.

Really?

Vega's giving me a cool look, and I feel Beck snatch his hand back.

Right, my chest is no longer his jurisdiction.

Speaking of chests, Vega's isn't Cat's jurisdiction. Yet her hands are awfully close…

Vega walks passed me without saying a word, Cat still on her back. And we all follow behind them.

The sight before me is wazzing me off for some reason. I get that Cat's Cat, which means she's like a five year old in a teenager's body; but that's just it. She's got a _teenager's_ body. Vega's got her arms hooked beneath Cat's teenaged knees. And Cat's s got her teenaged tits on my girlfriend's back; her teenaged thighs wrapped around my girlfriend's waist; and let's not forget to mention the fact that Cat's got her teenaged kitty on my girlfriends lower back. And to make matters worse, it's been slowly making its way down to Vega's ass because Cat's heavy and slipping.

Vega stops at the door, then gives a bit of a bounce to get Cat situated.

Cat giggles. Her little clitty was probably stimulated by that move.

That's it!

"Get down." I growl before grabbing Cat around the middle and pulling her off of my girlfriend. I make sure to set her on her feet though I'd like nothing more than to let her fall on her ass.

Everyone stares at me, probably wondering what the chiz my problem is.

"You're too old for piggy back rides. You look ridiculous," I scoff.

"Aww, phooey." Cat pouts.

Vega shakes her head at me and rolls her eyes. I don't know what her problem is. Cat's fine. I, on the other hand, am irritated as hell. The girl was practically humping _my_ girl from behind. And now I feel the need to mark my territory.

"Gimme your hand." I command

To my surprise, Vega hands it over immediately. Even while every one of our friends simultaneously shouts, "No Tori, don't!"

She jumps; then looks at her hand; at _our _entwined hands. "Aw man, Jade lemme go."

"No."

"I don't want to hold your hand. I'm still mad at you." She whines.

Big surprise there.

"So?" I shrug while walking her up to the counter. Vega tries to pull her hand out of mine the whole time but she can't.

I have a strong grip.

When we take our order, I speak first. I ask for a kid's meal and an extra drink for the twins. Then I pull Vega off to the side so everyone else can put their orders in.

"One kid's meal?" Vega frowns.

"For the brats." I answer.

"To share?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

Beck chimes in, seemingly coming out of nowhere. "Amber usually only eats her fries. Riley usually only eats her burger. It just makes sense to get them one meal to share and get an extra drink."

"Oh." Vega nods in understanding.

I want to smack him. There's this look of satisfaction on his face as he show off how much better he knows the twins than she does.

But Vega doesn't seem to catch on. She seems to be in a bit of an argument with Thing One.

"Fine," she says before successfully snatching her hand from mine this time, stooping down, and letting Riley climb on her back again.

Really, what the hell is going on with those two?

"Anything else?" the cashier asks.

I add on a burger and fries for myself, and Vega does the same.

When our total is given, I nearly wait for Vega to pull out the money Joy gave her. But then I remember which pocket she put it in and I turn so that I'm facing my girlfriend, stick my hand in her back pocket, and fish the money out.

She sucks in a tiny breath when I purposely cop a feel. Then she bites her lip.

I know that look. "You wanna kiss me, don't you?" I smirk.

"Gross." Riley rolls her eyes, but I ignore her.

"I'm still mad at you." Vega claims.

I lean in.

"I'll bite." She threatens.

"I like that."

"Eh-hem."

It's the cashier. And though I can't blame her for interrupting because I know she just wants the money we owe, but at the same time, this place is empty. It's not like she has anything else to do anyway.

"Here." I say, thrusting the money in her face.

She snatches it away and I _kindly_ resist the urge to snatch her hair out of her scalp. Courtesy of Tori.

Vega nudges Amber, and once she has the brat's attention, she points at me.

I don't know what to make of that until Amber grabs my hand and starts pulling me away.

Damage control? Really? I wasn't gonna do anything to her. Well, I was thinking of saying a few words, making a few threats, but I really wasn't going to _do _anything.

"Jade, where are we all gonna sit?" Amber asks suddenly.

Looking around, it's easy to understand why she's asking. The booths are all relatively small, not exactly enough room to comfortably seat all eight of us.

Fine by me.

"Oh well, looks like you brats will have your own table. Far, far away if I I'm lucky enough." I grunt.

"Don't be silly Jade," Vega says while coming up behind me with a try full of food. "The girls can sit in our laps."

And she's lost her damn mind.

"No." I answer simply.

"Okay, well, I guess since the girls are so small they can fit on the seat with us if Cat sits in my lap." She shrugs. No bluff. She'll really do it.

And have Cat's teenaged butt on my girlfriends lap? I don't think so.

"Fine. I got Amber." I agree reluctantly. There's just no way I'd willingly sit that other one on my lap, no matter how irritating Amber is.

Five minutes later, I change my mind. Amber's not necessarily a hyper kid, but for some reason she can't seem to keep still.

"Stop squirming so much, bugger." I command.

"I have to wazz." She whimpers.

Seriously?

"Then go!" I shout.

She jumps a little and I swear to God if she tinkled a little in my lap…

"Jade, just take her to the bathroom." Vega rolls her eyes beside me.

"Take her? She can go by herself."

"Herself?" Vega frowns.

"Yeah." I frown back. "Herself."

"You can't send a little girl to the bathroom by herself."

"Why not?"

"Something could happen to her."

"Like what?"

"Anything!" Vega yells.

On the other side of the table, the boys are starting to look a bit uncomfortable. Well, Robbie and André are. Beck and Rex seem to be amused by my bickering with Vega.

This bull chiz is not amusing.

"Don't be so paranoid!" I yell back.

"I'm not paranoid. My dad's a cop. You wouldn't believe the stories I've heard."

"Oh, I'd believe them. I just don't believe I'd ever get lucky enough to have the brats disappear via kidnappers or serial killers.

Vega's eyes go wide and she gasps for like _ever_.

Long enough for Riley to open her mouth and show me her regurgitated burger. That's her response to my comment because she's used to me wishing bad things and murder on her and her sister.

"Jade!" Vega yells at me.

"Vega!" I yell back. Who the hell pissed in her Lucky Charms?

"I can't believe you just said that!"

"Well if you're so worried about her, why don't _you_ take her to the bathroom?" I suggest.

"You're so…ugh!" she exclaims before going on a tangent that I can't understand in the least…because it's all in Spanish.

Fuck.

She pushes at me, and I move out the way so she and Riley can get out of the booth. She continues to fuss at me, but I really, really, don't know what the hell she's saying.

"Cat what's she saying?" I panic slightly, only chancing a few glances at the red head just in case Vega does something…_unexpected._

Cat covers her mouth. Whatever Vega's saying, she's not going to repeat it.

That's the "speak no evil" face. Vega must be cursing her ass off.

"You speak Spanish Little Red?" André asks.

"No, but I understand." Cat says. Her eyes are huge as she stares at Vega who's suddenly decided to pace as well as curse me out.

Fuck!

"Well translate!" I urge.

"What?"

"Tell us what Tori's saying." Robbie explains patiently.

"But I can't speak Spanish."

"Tell us in English." Beck tries.

"But she's speaking in _Spanish_."

"Yes, but whatever she's saying in Spanish, you say it in English!" I snap, breaking it down as far as it _can_ be broken down.

"_Oh_…I'm confused."

"…and you can't just have your way all the time Jade! If I want to go to a party then..."

English. Thank God, I just heard a snippet of English!

"Okay, Stop it." I grab both of her arms and make her face me; just to keep her still and so that she can really, really, hear me out. "Stop! I'm sorry, okay? Maybe I'm not sorry I kept you from going to Ryder's stupid party but I probably should've talked to you instead of giving you bush daises. Okay?"

She stares at me.

"And I didn't mean what I said about the kidnappers just now." I add on.

Vega tilts her head to the side. "I think…that counts as an apology."

"What?"

"You apologized." She smiles.

"I didn't." I scoff.

"You did too. You said you're sorry."

"No"-

"Sorry was in there." André cuts in.

Fuck, it was. But I still turn and give him a withering glare.

"Maybe I just heard something I didn't really hear?" he changes his mind.

Not that it changes the fact that I really did apologize to Vega.

"Amber's still gotta wazz guys." Riley announces while pointing to her sister who's currently doing the pee-pee dance.

What the fuck is wrong with this kid?

"I'll take her." I offer. I really need to get away for a second anyway.

Amber grabs my hand on the way, and I snatch mine away from hers.

_Jade…_

Fuck you, Tori.

I chance a glance back at Vega and she's frowning disapprovingly at me.

Fine.

I snatch the brat's hand up and I don't let go until she's actually in the stall.

"Jade?" she calls in the middle of her wazz.

Kids are so gross.

"Amber." I answer.

"How long is Tori gonna be your girlfriend?"

What kind of question is that? "Why?" I ask.

"Just wondering."

"Why?" I repeat.

"She's really nice."

"You think so?"

"Uh-huh"

"Hurry up." I say irritably.

"Okay." She says, flushing the toilet.

I remind her to wash her hands and hope she doesn't want to hold mine again.

She does.

God, she's irritating.

Halfway back to our table I stop mid step. Fucking Wazzbag is here.

It doesn't seem as if he's spotted Vega, or vice versa yet, so I don't think he knew she was coming, but still…the sight of him just makes me feel murderous. Even more so than usual.

Amber whimpers beside me, and when I look down I realize I've been squeezing the chiz out of her hand.

I let go. And as soon as I do, she grabs my hand again.

I make a conscious effort not to hurt her this time. But I'm still a bit tense. And I stay that way until Wazzbag starts heading toward the door. He's gonna leave without seeing my girlfriend.

I breathe easier and finish making my way toward our table.

When Riley sees me, she smiles and starts tugging on my girlfriend's arm until she's leaning down low enough for the kid to whisper in her ear.

Color me suspicious.

Vega looks up, see me, and stands. "Jade"-

"Tori!"

Out of nowhere, a dark haired little boy of about four runs and attaches itself to my girlfriend's leg.

"Chris?" Vega practically squeals before picking up the little monkey

"Tori?"

I stiffen. Wazzbag.

"Hi Danny. You already know my girlfriend. And these are our friends." Vega cheerfully introduces everyone at the table, and I tell myself she's just in a good mood because of the mini Wazzbag on her hip. "He's so dirty. Is this a uniform?" she asks, referring to his clothing.

Wazzbag chuckles. "Yeah, soccer. Or whatever you call a bunch of four year olds running down the field with the ball in their hands."

Vega laughs.

I inch a bit closer, until I'm standing right next to her.

Riley tugs on her shirt. And Vega looks down at her for a brief second before looking up and catching my eye.

"Mami, Riley has to wazz."

Now? Right this second? Hell no!

"Why didn't you go just now?" I accuse the little pre-terd.

"I didn't have to go then."

Vega rolls her eyes before beckoning a finger at Amber. "Come here, mamita."

Amber obediently makes her way over to Vega's side. Immediately, Vega pulls Amber into her side and covers her ear with the other hand, blocking off as much sound from me and Riley's argument as possible.

"Yes you did!" I shout back at Riley.

"No, I didn't!"

"I'm not taking you to the bathroom!

"_Tori_ says you have to!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

I glare at the little brat, my hands folded over my chest.

She mirrors my stance.

After a few seconds of this, Vega lets go of Amber's ear. "I think they're done with the loud part, go finish your fries and I'll get your ice cream, okay?"

"Okay." She smiles.

I smile too. Vega's picked up on the face that Amber hates yelling and that looks like Vega's spent a _lot _of time at my place, and with the brats. Which is why Beck's face is so amusing right now. He looks confused as hell. He was so convinced that me and Vega are faking; and now he probably doesn't know what the hell to think.

"You always weregood with kids." I hear wazzbag compliment. And just like that, my smile is gone; because _he's _smiling at my girlfriend. and it's this wistful "I thought you were gonna bear my children" kind of smile.

"Thanks." Vega grins. But I let it slide because her grin is aimed at the monkey perched on her hip. Not the wazzbag in front of her.

Wazzbag smiles back until he catches the glare I'm aiming at him. And when he takes notice, he audibly gulps.

"So, uh… It was nice seeing you Tori. We should be heading home." He gestures toward the mini Wazzbag.

Vega puts the monkey down. "Bye Chris." She says.

"Say bye to Tori, Chris." Wazzbag coaches.

"Bye tori." He says sadly.

"Aw don't be sad, I'll see ya again."

"When?"

"Oh uh"-

"He's got a soccer game this Saturday." Wazzbag cuts in. "You're welcome to come. All of you." he adds after my glare intensifies.

"Sure I'll be there." Vega smiles. Again, her smile is aimed at mini Wazzbag, so I can't exactly get mad. But there's no way we or she is going to that stupid game Saturday.

"Um babe, we have a thing this Saturday. We can't go."

"What thing?" She frowns.

"That_ thing_." I tilt my head a little.

"What thing?" She repeats.

I glare at her. Her refusal to play along has just pissed me off; and I find myself seriously contemplating giving my girlfriend another bouquet of bush daises this Saturday.


	11. Chapter 11

{~~~TORI~~~}

I discovered the best way to wake Jade up is to shove a cup of coffee under her nose. She gives this adorable little sniff/ nose twitch_ thing_ and then her hand shoots out and grabs the cup; all without opening her eyes in the slightest. It's really cool; but it can be kinda scary too if it's your first time doing it, or if you're not paying close enough attention.

This morning, however, I don't have any coffee on me. I ran out at home, I'm too broke to go out and buy a cup, and Joy doesn't have a coffee maker because she's the only adult in California who doesn't drink the stuff. So, it looks like I'll have to wake my girlfriend up the normal way.

"Jade." I call. "Wake up."

No response. Not that I was expecting much.

I shake her shoulder lightly and call her name again.

"Coffee." She mumbles.

I roll my eyes and lean forward so I can speak directly into her ear.

"Jade, come on. Get- whoa!" my eyes widen when her hand shoots and grabs the front of my shirt before pulling me in close to her face. Like _extremely_ close. Her eyes are still closed so I suspect she's a little more than sixty percent asleep.

"No coffee. No Jade." She grumbles. Then she drops her hand limply over the side of her bed.

Really?

"Jade get"-

"No coffee, no Jade." She repeats while pulling her comforter over her head.

Crap, I've really spoiled her, haven't I?

I drop my bag on the ground and start rummaging through it. I'm looking for my lip gloss; and not just any ol' lip gloss either. This one's special. It's coffee flavored. I ordered it off line about two days after me and Jade started "dating;" but I haven't used it yet. It's still sealed and everything.

Once I find it, I put a very generous amount on. Jade wants coffee? Okay, I'll give her some dang coffee.

"Jade," I sing. Then I pull the comforter back from her head.

"I _said_ no coffee, no Jade." She groans.

"Well, how about a little Tori instead?"

"But I hate Tor"-

Before she can tell me how much she hates me, I cut her off by biting her top lip while simultaneously forcing my bottom lip into her mouth.

She gasps and then one eye snaps open.

It's a glare. A one-eyed glare that I totally deserve. I was a bit rough because my feelings were hurt, but I can't really be too angry with her. I know Jade doesn't _truly _like me, even if she _is _my girlfriend.

And it's not really her fault she almost slipped up and told me she hates me. She was mostly still asleep. I can't expect her to be in character even while unconscious, can I?

Naturally, the thought makes me feel bad for nearly gagging my girlfriend. So, I begin to retract my lip from the inside of her mouth. Imagine my surprise when she chooses that moment to respond to me. First, by shooting her hand out and grabbing the back of my head to keep me still. And second, by sucking, _actually_ sucking, on my lip.

At first, all I can think is "wow" because it feels nothing short of amazing. Then she abruptly quits that and attacks my top lip. And _that's_ when I remember the lip gloss. Coffee flavored. She's sucking it all off!

Freak.

"More." She demands once she's swapped all of my lip gloss with her spit.

"No. Wake up." I scowl back while wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Real coffee's better anyway." She murmurs before turning her head away from me.

I swear this girl just makes me wanna…ugh!

I stand up straight. "Jade!" I call sternly.

She ignores me.

Fine.

I yank her comforter off her body and freeze. Jade's got…um…um…well she's uh, not wearing anything. Like…_anything_! Not even socks!

"Vega," she growls, not even bothering to turn around and face me. Not that I give her a chance to. The second she speaks, I'm up on the bed, comforter in hand, trying to cover her back up.

"Since when do you sleep naked?!" I panic.

"Since always."

"Not yesterday, or the day before that!"

"Not when I'm on my lady time." She explains in a bored fashion while I'm frantically trying to cover her up.

I'm a little bit clumsy. I know that, but at this moment I've amped my clumsy up about four thousand volts. Meaning, I manage to get the blanket back on her just fine, but not without falling out of the bed about three times. It just couldn't be helped. A naked Jade makes me nervous for some reason.

Okay, okay, so I know the reason; but still, the reason doesn't even make sense. Not really. It's not like we don't have the same parts; even though we kinda don't because all of Jade's parts seem to be way better looking than mine and- whoa. Off track. That's quite enough of that. I need to concentrate. Focus on something else. Like school. Yeah. I have to get to school. No, _we _have to get to school.

"Jade." I start, having had a douse of a reality check. "Get up!"

"Go away."

I sigh, looking her over. I don't think I have the courage to shake her again. What if her comforter slides off or something? She's still naked under there for Pete's sake!

Then I see her feet and I nearly smile. They're all out in the open because well, I didn't cover them up. I was too busy trying to make sure I covered the important stuff.

And now I've got an idea.

I walk over to the end of the bed. "Jade, get up." I sing as I tickle the bottom of her exposed feet.

Huge mistake. Her feet kick up and one of them catches my mouth. There's immediate pain and the taste of blood. Yeah, Jade really just kicked me in the mouth.

"Hay!" I cry, falling on my butt and covering my mouth with both hands.

Jade gets up then.

Go figure. She's probably gonna laugh at me.

"Vega?" she calls as she gets out of her bed.

I don't answer her. I'm too busy concentrating on how bad my face hurts right now.

Next thing I know, Jade's kneeling down in front of me.

"Lemme see." She commands.

I shake my head and clamp my face even tighter, if that's possible.

"Don't be a baby." She rolls her eyes at me.

I shake my head again.

She pulls on my wrist.

"It's fine." I claim, though there's a good chance she didn't understand a word I just said because my response was so muffled.

"If it's fine, then lemme see it." She rebuttals impatiently. And when she tugs on my wrist this time, there's much more force. As a result, I'm distracted by the sudden movement of two very special pieces of anatomy swinging in my line of vision.

Boobies. Jade's naked. I forgot about that 'til just now. Maybe she's forgotten too.

I sacrifice one of my hands to point them out to her, to _remind_ her.

She grabs a hold of my hand and says, "They're just boobs, Vega" before tucking my hand between her thighs and squeezing her legs shut tight. "Now stay still." She commands.

Oh. My. God.

I can't, um, my hand…oh my God! My hand is…and Jade is…

She didn't even have to tell me to stay still after she did _that_! I'm too afraid to move an inch. Heck, I'm too afraid to expand my lungs and freakin' breathe because Jade's naked and my hand is trapped between her naked thighs! Naked thighs are wrapped around my hand! Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my _God_….

Jade takes full advantage of my momentary paralysis. She peels my other hand away from my face, and I let her because I'm too freaked out to resist.

Jade on the other hand doesn't freak out in the least. She smirks at me and I know she's gonna tease me even before she does it.

"Jeez Vega, if all it takes for you to sit still is for me to put your hand between my legs…" she trails off distractedly once my hand is out of the way and she finally gets a good look at my lip. "Shit." She swears softly.

My eyes widen a little. Is it that bad? Am I gonna need stitches!? Oh God, I can't get stitches. Just the idea of having to go to the hospital weirds me out. I hate that place!

"It's not too bad." Jade adds quickly once I start to hyperventilate. I get the immediate impression that she's lying to try and calm me down; but for some odd reason it still works.

She reaches behind herself and yanks the sheet off her bed. Then she presses a corner of it to my bottom lip to staunch the bleeding. I flinch back. That hurt.

"I'm sorry, baby." She apologizes so sincerely that I believe her. I mean, I know the "baby" part was only added on because I'm her "girlfriend" but the rest of it…it felt _real_; like she apologized because she genuinely didn't mean to hurt me.

"It's okay, Mami." I forgive her.

Her breath catches. I see it happen because her face is so close to mine right now.

She wasn't lying when she said that she likes it when I call her that.

Abruptly she gives her head a slight shake, like she's trying to clear her thoughts. "Here." She says, motioning for me to take hold of the sheet she's got pressed against my lip. I do so with one hand, leaving the other one that's trapped between her legs. I can't move that one until Jade releases me.

"If you give me some money, I won't tell Mom what you guys are doing."

It's Riley. There's no doubt about it, but I turn toward the sound of her voice anyway. And there she is, standing in the doorway with a huge smirk on her face.

Crap. Jade's still naked. Of course she thinks we're doing something. How is it that this always happens to us?

"Shut my door." Jade tells Riley. "We're not even doing anything."

Riley does as she's told, but _after _she comes in.

Surprisingly, Jade doesn't scream at her sister for it. She just casually asks Riley to pass her a t-shirt.

What's even more surprising is that Riley complies _immediately_. I expected an argument, but there is none. She simply goes through Jade's drawers and gets out a t-shirt as well as a pair of sweats.

It's when she approaches Jade that I realize she's picked up on the fact that something's wrong. I mean, I _am_ sitting here with the end of a bed sheet pressed against my lip. Add the bit of blood that's seeped through and it's hard _not _to come to the conclusion that something's wrong.

Riley kneels down beside me and absentmindedly hands Jade's clothes to her. "What'd you do to her?" she wonders aloud as she inspects my face.

"I _accidentally_ kicked her."

"In the _mouth_?" Riley fires back incredulously.

"Yes." Jade answers before getting up to get dressed and finally freeing my other hand; which has gone partially numb. I shake it a little, trying to get some feeling back into it.

Riley rolls her eyes at Jade before turning her attention back to me. "Was it _really _a accident?"

"Yeah." I smile at the little girl. She's such a rowdy kid, but she can be sweet when she wants to be.

"Lemme see." She demands.

I take the sheet off and show her.

"Oh, so you'll show the terd and not me?" Jade scowls down at me. I shrug and advert my eyes as she's putting on her sweats now.

"It's because she likes me more than you." Riley answers while hooking her arm under my shoulder and helping me up to my feet.

God that was just the_ cutest_ thing ever!

Then Riley turns, showing her back to her sister and giving me her full attention. "When _I _grow up, you can be my girlfriend. _I _won't bust your lips." She declares, sending a grin over her shoulder toward her now dressed sister.

I snort and shake my head at the little monster. It's more than obvious she's just messing with Jade. I'm starting to think it's her favorite pastime.

"Get out of here you little shit." Jade scowls back at her.

"Don't call her that." I defend Riley immediately.

"Oh?" Jade's eyes widen slightly. She wants me to take it back but I'm not going to. She shouldn't call her sister that. I don't even call Trinathat… and she's _Trina_.

"Yeah." I answer bravely. "You really shouldn't call her that."

Jade glares at Riley as if it's her fault I just talked back to her.

Riley darts behind me and hugs me from behind, both of her hands clenching each other on top of my navel. I have no doubt whatsoever that she's milking the fact that I'm acting in her defense because Riley doesn't usually run from Jade so soon into an argument. She's not afraid of her older sister.

Jade's eyes widen. "Get your grubby little hands off my girlfriend." She snarls.

Seriously?

"Jade, come on. No need to get jealous." I smirk playfully.

Obviously Jade's not in a very playful mood. "I'm not jealous." she spits back.

I hold my hands up, the universal sign for surrender.

Jade raises her eyebrows expectantly. Riley's still holding on to me and she's made it clear that she doesn't want her to do that. I roll my eyes and pat Riley's hands. "Go downstairs, Monstrito."

"Fine." She relents and I see Jade get just a little angrier. It's because Riley listens to me more often than she listens to her own sister; but can anyone really blame her? Jade's so mean to her.

"Do you want me to get you some ice for that?" Riley asks, pointing at my lip.

_Aw_. She's so freakin' sweet and I nearly take her up on her offer until I see Jade's still glaring at the kid.

"You know, I think I'm good. It's not even bleeding anymore." I pat Riley's head.

"You sure? Lemme see again."

I bend down a little. Just to humor her. I know Jade won't like it but the kid is just so dang cute when-

"Mwah!" Riley lays a big, and exaggeratedly loud, one on me.

Crap. I walked right into that one, didn't I? Still, it's a little funny. I mean, I know _why _it was done. To mess with Jade. And of course it works. Jade's eyes flash dangerously, an indication that she's in a murderous mood.

"You little"-

She starts but I cut her off. "Jade!" I yell as I yank Riley behind me.

"What!"

"Come on, it was just a joke. There's no need to hurt her. She's just a kid _and _she's you're sister." I explain unnecessarily.

"Oh, I'm not gonna hurt her. I'm gonna kill her."

"I'm not gonna hurt her. I'm gonna kill her." Riley mimics.

I nearly face palm. _That _is not gonna help calm Jade down at all. I turn my head a little so I can see the instigating little monster. "Monstrito, don't tease your sister, please. She just woke up, okay?"

Riley looks back up at me and I'm ninety nine percent sure she was gonna do as I asked, but then Jade just _had_ to scream at her.

"Just get out of here you little pre-terd!"

And naturally, Riley just _had _to retaliate by mocking her. "Just get out of here you little pre-terd."

"Riley…" Jade warns.

"Jade." I plead, hoping I can get the oldest out of the two sisters to stop this nonsense.

"Riley…" Riley mocks, ignoring me and my attempts at making peace.

Jade takes a step forward. "One." She says and my stomach drops. I hate it when she counts.

"One." Riley mocks.

Ugh. Kill me. Just kill me now.

"Two."

"Two."

"That's it!" Jade snaps, totally screwing number three over. She lunges at me, reaching her hands behind me and nearly grabbing a hold of Riley, but I block her. I grab her around the waist and push all of my body weight against her. It barely works. But it's enough for Riley to escape.

"Riley, go." I pant.

"No thanks." I hear from behind me.

Okay, so Riley doesn't feel like going anywhere.

What else can I do_ but_ focus on Jade? It's the only logical thing to do. I mean, if Riley refuses to leave, then I've got to make it so that Jade's no longer in the mood to kill.

I just don't know how the heck I'm supposed to do that. So I wing it.

"Calm down, Mami." I hiss in her ear, taking the opportunity to try and talk some sense into her since she's already pressed so close to me.

"No!" She's still squirming, trying to get to Riley, but not as hard as before.

I think it worked a little.

"Just calm down." I murmur before placing a kiss on the spot just below her ear. She shivers, just a little; but that's it. That's the only response I get for that.

"No. I'm gonna- mmph"

I bite her earlobe mid-sentence. Not too hard, but hard enough. For a second I forgot I was dealing with my freak of a girlfriend. "Freak" being the operative word. I don't know what I was thinking with the kissing thing.

Jade pushes at my shoulders a little, still wanting me to let her go so she can kill her little sister; but at the same time it's more than obvious I started to wear her down the second I bit her.

Jeez, biting her should've been the first thing I tried. I'll have to remember that for next time.

"Are you gonna leave Riley alone?" I ask, knowing the answer already.

"No. I'm gonna kill her." she answers, but a lot less vehemently than before. Still, it's not the answer I'm looking for, so I bite her again.

This time Jade moans rather loudly before leaning into me and wrapping her arms around my neck. "Fine, I'll let the little terd live." She surrenders.

I reward her with a few nips to her lips.

"God, you're good at that." She moans. And that _sound_ makes all the blood rush up to my face. Dios mío, she has a nice moan. Low and intense and-

"You mean to tell me all I gotta do is bite you and you'll calm down?"

Of course Riley _would_ choose the very second I've calmed her sister down to pick another fight.

I feel Jade tense up and there's no way I'm gonna let the little monster mess up all my handy work. "Out, Monstrito," I command kicking Riley in the butt.

"Ow," she cries, though I didn't really hurt her.

"Now."

"Okay, okay. I'm going." She says. And with that she actually leaves, still rubbing her fanny.

I chuckle after her and then turn back to my girlfriend, who isn't laughing at all. "What?"

"If she starts biting me, babe, I'm gonna kick your ass." She threatens.

I roll my eyes. "Start on your shower or we'll be late for scho-"

"Don't tell me what to do." She cuts in.

"Okay…do whatever you want but"-

"You're _still_ telling me what to do _and_ it sounds as if you're about to turn it into an ultimatum. And I _hate_ ultimatums." She says, giving me a serious glower and folding her hands over her chest.

Okay…

"Fine. _I'm _leaving in twenty minutes because _I _don't want to be late to school." And with that, I head downstairs to eat a little breakfast with the twins while I wait for Jade. It's the same as it's been for the past three days. Riley makes a mess, Amber doesn't.

Twelve minutes later, Jade comes down the stairs. I have no idea how she showered, dressed, and did her make-up in less than twenty minutes. I was expecting her to take at least thirty. She usually does anyway.

"Let's go." she orders, making sure I know she's allowed to tell _me_ what to do.

Whatever. I don't feel like arguing about how unfair that is, so I let it go.

"By guys." I call. Amber runs up and gives me a hug. Riley high fives me.

I'm nearly out the door when Joy calls out to me from upstairs.

"Yes?" I yell back.

"Don't forget to pick up the girls after school!"

Crap! I completely forgot about that.

"I won't!" I yell back as I set the reminder in my phone. Then I go ahead and put a reminder in for the next two Thursdays as well. Hopefully Jade doesn't do anything to get herself another three weeks' worth of detention.

Before I can finish up with my reminders, I get a text. A _very_ annoying text.

"Aw man!" I whine, rushing for my car. I've got to get to the school ASAP.

I rush Jade to the car as un-bossily as I can, but I'm still practically pushing her…which she doesn't like.

"What's the hurry Vega?"

"I don't wanna be late."

Jade narrows her eyes at me as I open the passenger door for her. "Even if you drive three miles an hour, we'll still make it to school on time." She explains slowly; like I'm mentally handicapped.

She's right, totally right; but I'm not worried about the stupid bells. I've got to get to school quickly for another reason all together.

I run, literally run, to the driver's side and get in. I'm even able to start the car before Jade makes it inside.

I glare at her. Can't she move any faster?

I jiggle my leg impatiently as she takes her sweet time getting into the car and shutting the door.

"Meeting someone?" She asks.

"Seatbelt." I reply.

She ignores me and that's okay. Normally I'd fight with her a little bit about it before I give up on her, but not today. I just pull off. If I get in an accident and she flies through the windshield…

"Babe, who just texted you?"

"Sikowitz." I answer immediately; not even picking up on the suspicion in her tone.

She scoffs at me, like she doesn't believe me. I glance her way, wondering why _wouldn't_ she believe me.

"Sikowitz doesn't have a phone. I bet he doesn't even know how to work one." She explains.

Ah, now the scoffing makes sense. If she truly believes Sikowitz doesn't have a phone then it can only mean she thinks I'm lying to her about who just texted me.

"Well, maybe he just got it and someone taught him how to use it." I suggest.

She holds her hand out expectantly. "Gimme your phone."

"No." I shake my head. Haven't we been through this already? She should just trust that I'm telling the truth when I give her an answer.

"No?"

"Yeah, no." I say firmly while jamming my phone down between my legs.

For normal people, it's a bit of a deterrent. To Jade, it doesn't seem to matter because without any form of warning she reaches down between my thighs and tries to grab my phone.

"Jade!" I yell, snatching her hand out and clamping my legs shut tightly.

"What's the problem, Vega?"

What's the problem? What's the problem?!

"You can't just…just"-

"I can't just _what_?"

"_Do_ stuff like that!" I yell back at her.

"Stuff like…put my hand in between your legs?" I see her raise a questioning eyebrow out of the corner of my eye.

"Yeah!" I exclaim.

"Why not?"

"_W-why?"_

She can't be serious.

"Yeah, tell me why I can't put my hand between my _girlfriend's_ legs, Vega."

Crap! Crap, crap, crap. She's got me there; and she knows it too because she smiles and starts reaching for me again.

"No!" I cry. "Not while I'm driving. You can cause an accident." I make up on the spot. Though it's totally true. Thank God, it's true.

"So, if we happen to come across a red light, I can put my hand in between your legs then, right?" She grins slyly at me.

God, I wish she would just stop saying that! My face has got to be magenta by now!

"Right, Vega?"

I nod my head. "Yeah, sure." I gulp.

Oh man! What the heck have I gotten myself into?

Jade puts her hand on my knee and my breathing picks up within the matter of seconds. No doubt she's resting it there until we hit a red light, then she'll…she'll…

Yellow light.

I speed through it, rather than slow down. I know better, but I do it anyway, why? Because Jade's got her hand resting on my knee, waiting until I happen across a red light. And it's _just_ as distracting as her hand actually being down there. More so even because the anxiety that comes along with it makes me a jumpy person, and an unsafe driver.

I sigh in defeat as I fish my phone out and hand it to her. She grins at me.

Yeah, she won this time.

"Babe, why does Sikowitz want you to go to the Blackbox Theater?" She asks after reading the message.

"I have to take a picture of something he put in there."

"Something like what?"

"I don't know yet. He'll text me in a few and let me know what it is."

"Why?"

"To prove I was there." I shrug.

"Why do you have to be there in the first place?"

I frown at her briefly before focusing on the road again. What's with all the questions?

"Um, I don't _have _to be there I guess. Sikowitz said it was a competition but he never said what would happen to whichever one of us was the first to _not _show up."

"Wait. Us? Who _else_ has to do this?"

"Melissa." I shrug.

"You, Melissa, and who else?"

I frown. She sounds kinda upset. Then I glance over at her and she looks_ mighty _upset, but why?

"It's just me and Melissa." My eyebrows furrow. I'm not afraid to show her how confused I am. Hopefully she'll be kind enough to explain why she's suddenly wazzed off.

"Why just you two?" she barely gets out through clenched teeth.

"I don't know, 'cause we're the new ones. I guess it's some kind of initiation thing. Like, we have to prove how dedicated we are to the school by running all over town whenever he gives the word…text. And now that I think about it, it's kind of annoying." I tilt my head to the side and frown, _actually_ starting to get irritated as I think about it. "Do you know how many times I've had to cancel my plans just because he texted me and wanted us to go to Nozu's, or Freezy Queen, or the park"-

"Wait, you guys don't just meet at school?"

I roll my eyes, getting even more irritated with my teacher. "That would be great," I reply almost wistfully. "But _noooo_. Sikowitz is so dang creative."

"And you never thought there was anything strange about that?"

I think about it for a second. "No. Not really. I mean, Sikowitz _is_ a strange man. He doesn't wear shoes and sometimes he comes in through the window- actually, you know what I find really strange. He never said what the winner gets or what would happen to the loser." I gasp. "What if there _is _no reward? What if I've been doing this for nothing?"

"Not that!" she hits me, _actually_ hits me on my shoulder.

"Hay!" I cry.

She ignores me, just keeps rambling on as if I didn't interrupt her.

"You didn't think I would've liked to know that you've been meeting up with some girl all over town for however long this "assignment" has been taking place?"

"Um…"

"And how long _has _it been?"

What the heck is her problem?"

"How long Vega!?" she practically screams.

I duck a little, so sure she was gonna hit me again; but she doesn't. She's still waiting for an answer.

"Um," I think back to the day we first got our assignment. I remember the day clearly because that was the day I choked on Jade's dirty note. "Last Monday." I answer.

"Last Monday? That was nearly two weeks ago! And you never told me?"

"Why would I have told you?"

"Because I'm your girlfriend!"

I think about that for a beat, but I don't get why she's so upset. "You want me to tell you about every assignment I get because you're my girlfriend?" I ask. I understand we're supposed to share things with each other now, but that's going a little overboard in my opinion.

"I hope you're being a smartass and that you're not actually that stupid."

Huh?

"Who am I kidding, I'm talking to you."

"Hey!" I protest.

"Vega, you're meeting a girl all around town. You don't think I'd be uncomfortable with that?"

"Um…" I _seriously_ still don't get it.

"Okay….How do you think I'd feel if Beck was still my boyfriend and he was meeting Melissa in secret locations all around town and I found out weeks later?"

Oh. I get it now. I'm dating Jade, which kind of makes me a lesbian, and she wouldn't be comfortable with me hanging out with another girl…I wonder if that means I can hang out with a guy then.

Probably not. I _was_ dating guys before her which means I'm not _just _into girls. I'll probably have to steer clear of spending alone time with both sexes. This so isn't fair.

"Do you get it now?" Jade's voice cuts into my thoughts

I blink a little. I didn't even realize we'd made it to school. I mentally scold myself. Driving on autopilot while I'm in lala land is _not _safe.

"Yeah." I say. "I get it."

I park my car and absolutely refuse to look at my girlfriend while I grab books and stuff from the back seat.

"So why do you still look lost."

"Just realized something." I answer quietly.

"Like?"

I roll my eyes. If I wanted to tell her that I just realized I'm practically a prisoner because it doesn't seem like I'll be able to have a life outside of her, I wouldn't have given her such a vague answer to begin with. So I decide to mess with her instead.

"Melissa _is _pretty."

Jade narrows her eyes.

"What? Don't tell me you haven't noticed."

"I haven't." She growls.

"Really? She's got the most gorgeous hair I've _ever _seen."

Jade works her jaw from side to side, and I feel bad for making her mad; but at the same time she's just so dang sexy when she glares like that.

She turns away from me, pulling on her door handle.

I sigh inwardly. I can't leave it like this.

"But you, mami?" I say. And she turns around, hand still on the handle, but at least she's still giving me her attention.

I lean in close to her, definitely invading her personal space. "You're the _sexiest_ girl alive." I nip at her lips. "You have nothing to worry about." I do it again. And she smiles.

"I better not have anything to worry about."

"You don't…for now." I smirk.

She grabs a hold of my face and kisses me hard…my busted lip totally getting caught in the crossfires.

"Ow!" I cry, jerking my head back and covering my mouth with both hands.

"What's the matter, babe?" She grins at me.

"You did that on purpose!" I accuse.

She simply winks at me and gets out of the car.

"Freak." I mutter as I do the same.

"What was that?"

Lucky for me, my phone lights up. "Gotta go! Sikowitz just sent the five minute warning text." I yell, running all the way to the Blackbox Theater.

Melissa's already in here when I arrive. She doesn't even realize she's no longer alone. Her back's to me and she's wearing ear buds.

I sneak up behind her and pull a bud out of her ear. "Fancy meeting you here, Lissy." I say.

She visibly shutters. She hates it when I call her that. She says it sounds like an STD. and I hate it when she calls me-

"Icky Vicky, I see you made it."

It's my turn to shutter. I really do hate being called Vicky. It's icky and I explained that to her, so naturally she's taken to calling me Icky Vicky.

"Don't call me that!" I snap.

"You started it." She shrugs.

"Ugh! When are you gonna not show up so I can win and be done with this?" I whine.

"You seem to be in a sour mood." She observes.

I sigh and try to calm down immediately. I shouldn't take anything out on her. "I'm sorry; I'm Just having a weird day." I explain.

"Staring with that?" she points at my lip, which is still throbbing from Jade's "kiss."

"Yeah, I was trying to wake Jade up for school and she kicked me, by accident." I add when Melissa's eyes go wide. Then I begin to explain my morning to her. The attempt to wake Jade up, the kick to the face, playing referee between the two sisters…

"Wow. All that, in just one morning?"

"Yup. Then she gets mad at me because she's just now finding out about this assignment." I continue, because I hadn't even _gotten_ to that part yet.

Melissa frowns. "Just now, as in this morning?"

"Yeah..." I answer suspiciously.

"As in we've been doing this for nearly two weeks and you're just now telling her today?"

"What?" I ask defensively.

"Oh, come on, Vicky! You can't be serious!"

I frown at her. I got this speech from my girlfriend already. I don't feel like hearing it again. Yet, I get the privilege of hearing it again.

"You're meeting another girl…alone…in places that aren't always public…" She trails off, probably hoping I can fill in the rest of the blanks by myself.

I roll my eyes. "You sound just like her!"

"Well, she's right. How did you_ not_ get it?

"I do get it!"

She quirks an eyebrow at me.

"Okay, so I didn't get it before, but that's because I wasn't doing _anything_ wrong. Not even one wrong thought entered my mind while we were out together. Jade should just _trust_ me." I explain.

"She should." Melissa agrees, "but trust doesn't always come so easily. I'm not even fully sure Danny trusts me a hundred percent… and I'm the "good" one in our relationship."

"So you're telling me you told Danny about this assignment?" I ask, just to make sure I understand about this whole trust or lack thereof thing.

"No. I didn't tell him."

My eyes light up. "Aha! Why not?" I ask mockingly.

"Because _I'm _not the lesbian who's meeting a very pretty red head." She flips her hair flirtatiously.

"I"- I stop myself from telling her that I'm not a lesbian as I'm currently dating a _girl_. "You know, I started off liking boys too." I say instead.

She cocks her head to the side and smirks at me. "You tryna say you can turn me, Vicky?"

I smirk back at her. "I'm just saying Danny would probably like to know that his new girlfriend is meeting his _lesbian_ ex-girlfriend alone…all over town…in places that aren't always public…"

"You forgot to mention the fact that I'm his _very pretty_ new girlfriend." She winks.

I roll my eyes. "You're not that pretty, you dang STD."

"Oh, I'm plenty pretty, Icky." She fires back.

"Not enough to make me want to cheat on my girlfriend. Not that I would ever do that anyway."

"I don't know, Vicky. Jade cheated on Beck with you. Doesn't that make you an accomplice or something?"

She's just teasing me. I can tell; but I feel guilty immediately. Like I'm a horrible person. Even though I know it's not true, that Jade didn't cheat on Beck, at least not with me, I _still_ feel guilty. Because that's what Melissa thinks happened. That's what she must think of me.

Both of our phones buzz and we check our messages. There's a picture of a blue star on it. We find it almost immediately and take the picture of it and send it back to Sikowitz; just in time for the warning bell.

"Hey, Vicky. I want to ask you something important."

"Okay, what's up?" I give her my attention. She sure looks like whatever she has to say is important. She just went from teasing to serious in two seconds flat.

She takes a deep breath. "You're my boyfriend's ex-girlfriend."

Consider my attention caught. I have no idea where this is heading. But it sounds bad and I don't want it to be. I wouldn't say me and Melissa are the best of friends, but I think we're working on getting there, which is more than fine by me. Sometimes I need a girl to talk to. I mean, I've got Trina, but she's my sister…and she's Trina. Then there's Jade, who still hates me but doesn't express it as much because she's my girlfriend now, and Cat is well, she's cat.

"I want us to be friends. I really do. You're a nice person. And you're silly and you make me laugh."

"Why does it sound like you're breaking up with me?" I deadpan.

"See?" She laughs a little.

"But?" I prompt for her.

"But I think…What I'm trying to say is…" She takes another deep breath. "Friends have to be honest with each other so I'm just gonna say it."

"Please do. The suspense is killing me here." I beg.

She nods her understanding before taking a shaky breath and letting it all out. "About Chris's soccer game on Saturday, I'd be uncomfortable if you went with us."

I blink. That's not where I thought this would go.

"It's just that he remembers you as Danny's girlfriend, and he doesn't quite understand that you're not anymore, and since I'm Danny's girlfriend now…I just don't want him to be confused."-

I hold my hand up. "I got it. Say no more." I give her a tight smile. I feel bad because I told Chris I'd be there, but Melissa has a point. I wish I would've thought about her before I agreed to go to the soccer game in the first place.

"So…"

"So, I'll text Danny. Let him know I'm not coming." I reassure her that there are no hard feelings. That I understand and we can still be friends.

"Um, maybe I should tell him."

I roll my eyes. "What do you think I'm gonna do Lissy? Tell him I can't come because his new girlfriend can't cope?"

"So what _are_ you gonna say, Icky?" She glares back.

"Do I_ have_ to give him a reason, ya dang STD? I don't owe Danny anything!"

She sighs in relief when she realizes that I was just messing with her and gives me a genuine smile. "Thanks, Vicky."

"No problem." I smile back.

{~~~(O)~~~}

"ID please?" the woman with the clipboard asks me when I finally make it to the front of the child pick-up line.

I hand over my ID and she checks it rather thoroughly before handing it back to me with a not so friendly smile.

Jeez, this woman takes her job seriously. She's been holding a hand in front of Amber's chest ever since the girls spotted me and tried to run up to my car.

But I guess I can understand. Wouldn't want some stranger to drive off with someone else's kids.

Finally she gives the girls the okay to get in my car. Amber rolls her eyes at the woman and Riley gives her an uncertain smile.

I frown, a little confused. I don't think I've ever seen Amber roll her eyes at anyone. Maybe this woman is a complete b-word.

Riley climbs into the back seat and gives me a shy smile. I smile back at her a little nervously. I bet she's up to something.

"What's up, Tori?" Amber says while hoping into the front seat.

"Um, hi Mamita." I greet with a confused smile. Amber usually says "hi," _not_ "what's up."

She rolls her eyes at me. "I'm Riley." She explains.

I look at her; then I look back at Riley. Now I get it. They've switched. Riley is acting like Amber and Amber is acting like Riley.

There's a honk behind me and I remember that I need to start driving.

"Seatbelt." I call.

Riley puts hers on immediately. Amber refuses, so I put it on for her.

When I drive off, she unbuckles it.

"Come on, Mamita. That's not funny." I reach over and buckle her again.

"I'm_ Riley_." She repeats exasperatedly.

I look in the rearview mirror and catch Riley's eye. "And you're supposed to be Amber." I confirm.

She nods her head.

"Just so we're clear, are you guys doing some kind of school assignment and I'm just supposed to go along with it? Or are you two trying to trick me and it's just not working because I know for a _fact_ that you," I point to Amber, "are my sweet baby girl version of Jade, my _Mamita_. And you," I eye Riley once again, "are my little monster version of Jade, my _Monstrito_."

Both girls start grinning from ear to ear.

"What?" I ask.

"You can tell us apart." Amber answers, shyly.

"Off course I can tell you apart. Wait, you were _testing_ me?" I feign shock and disappointment before suddenly attacking her sides with the tickle bunny twins. She laughs and I can't help but to laugh with her. She's so adorable and sweet. She needs to never act like Riley again. It looks awkward on her sweet face.

Riley unbuckles her seatbelt and leans forward, poking her head in between me and Amber's seats. And she never needs to act like Amber again. It's kinda creepy and makes it seem like she's up to something drastic…like plotting to take over the world.

"You know, Beck _still _can't tell us apart." Riley announces.

"Well, I'm not Beck. Now sit back."

She does as I ask.

"Hey Tori?" she calls from the back seat.

I raise my eyebrows at her. "Seatbelt."

"Oh right." She says before buckling in. "Are you taking us home?"

"Yep."

"Can we go to your house instead?"

It's not a bad idea. My house is closer to the schools anyway. If I take the girls to my place, then I won't have to drive twenty minutes to Jade's house, drop them off, drive twenty minutes to the school to pick Jade up, drive twenty more minutes to Jade's house again to drop her off, only to have to make my way home…which would take another twenty minutes.

Hm, It's not a bad idea at all.

"Okay." I shrug. "Just call your mom and let her know so she won't panic when she doesn't hear you guys walk through the door within the next half hour.

"Mom's not at home."

"Well then your dad then." I reply without even thinking about the fact that I've never heard anyone ever mention Mr. West. Not Riley, not Amber, not Joy, not Jade. I just suggested it because it would never in a million years have occurred to me that I was about to drop two third graders off to an empty house.

"Dad doesn't live with us." Riley frowns.

"Oh, where does he live?"

"New York, with his girlfriend."

"New York!?" I squeak. "How long has he lived there?"

"Since we were five." Amber pipes up.

Three years. Their father's been away for three years. I don't understand how…_where _that leaves Jade, and I know it's none of my business and that she'll kill me if she ever finds out I'd been prying in her life, but I ask anyway. I have to. "Where's Jade's mom?"

"She lives in new York."

"What, like with your father?"

"Uh-huh. She's his girlfriend again."

Oh my God. I just had to ask, didn't I? I just _had _to ask! That's just so…messed up! What'd he do? Divorce Jade's mom, marry the twins' mom, divorce her, then leave Jade with wife number two and go back to wife number one? Why didn't he take Jade with him? Better yet, why didn't Jade's mom come and get her. Just what the hell is going on?!

"Tori?" one of the twins calls.

"What?"

"The light's green." The other finishes.

Crap! Focus Tori. You've got two little girls in the car with you! I scold myself.

Thankfully, I make it home without incident. Nobody was there so I got the girls some snacks and had them do their homework before we headed out for Hollywood Arts to pick up Jade an hour later.

"Alright." I announce once we make it to my school. "Mamita, hop in the back with your sister. Jade's gonna wanna sit up front."

"Okay." She agrees before doing just that.

We've only been sitting in the nearly empty parking lot for all of two minutes when there's a knock on my window. I jump a little. Who the heck…?

When I roll my window down, Beck puts his face in my car. "Hey Tori." He smiles.

"Hi." I smile back.

"So…whatcha doin' out here?"

I frown at him. I've got a backseat full of mini Jades. And "big Jade" is in detention. What _else _could I be doing out here?

"I'm picking up Jade." I reply, stating the obvious. "What are you doing out here still?"

"Waiting for you."

I frown. Did I just hear him right?

"Can we talk?" he asks, looking in at the twins and giving them a wave.

"Hi Beck," Riley says softly.

"What's up Amber." He answers, proving to me that he really can't tell them apart. "Hey Riley," he says to Amber. She rolls her eyes and waves back unenthusiastically while shooting me this look that clearly says 'see what I mean?'

I laugh.

Beck looks at me, probably wondering what's so funny, but I just shake my head. "You wanna talk in private, right?"

He nods.

"Sit still. I'll be right back." I tell the girls.

I get out of my car and walk a little ways away, far enough so that we're out of hearing range, but still close enough so I can watch.

"Jade's gonna be out soon, so I'll make this quick." He starts off.

"Okay…"

"Look, there's no easy way to ask this, so I'm just gonna let it out." He continues.

Whoa…déjà vu. And I feel my heart begin to race. What the chiz does he have to say to me?

"Is Jade blackmailing you into dating her?"

My Jaw drops. That is _not_… I don't even know…."_What_?" I'm finally able to say.

"I just…" He looks me in the eyes and squares his shoulders. "Look, you don't have to take it anymore."

"What?" I repeat stupidly.

"Now, I'm not telling you to tell me what it is. Whatever she has on you is your business, but if you want out just say the word and I can find a way to help you"-

"She's not blackmailing me." I interrupt, realizing that he's serious. That he seriously thinks he's attempting to rescue me from big bad Jade.

"Tori, you're a bad liar." He tells me.

Naturally, I take offense because… I'm not even lying. "She's not blackmailing me." I repeat.

"Really?" he raises his eyebrows and folds his arms over his chest. "Then what's with that thing she does when you do something she doesn't agree with, huh?"

"What thing?"

"That _thing_." He emphasizes with this weird gesture of his arm.

"Huh?" I'm so dang confused.

"You know, when she says "gimme your arm." And you just give her your arm automatically. No protest whatsoever. It's almost as if it's some sort of trigger sentence for you guys or something." His eyes go wide as if he's just had a major epiphany. "wait, it is some sort of trigger sentence, isn't it?"

"That doesn't even make sense!" I scoff.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I just trust people like that. I have a very trusting nature." I explain.

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Gimme your arm," he says while reaching for me.

I snatch back away from him.

"See?" He says smugly.

I narrow my eyes at him. Okay…maybe I don't have a very trusting nature. "Maybe I just trust _her_."

He scoffs at me.

"What was that for?"

"You _trust_ her?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"_Yeah_!" I say a little bit louder. I'm starting to get agitated.

"The girl who kicked you in the mouth just this morning?" he goads.

"It was an accident."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah!"

"And I suppose the bush daisies were just her way of showing how much she cares about you?"

"She had her reason for doing it." I defend her. Why am I defending her?

"So that time in the janitors closet"-

That's it! "Did she blackmail you!?" I yell.

He frowns at me. Clearly confused. But I asked a simple question. Nothing confusing about it at all.

"Is that why you guys were dating? Because she blackmailed you?" I break it down for him, just so he can hear how silly it sounds.

"No, _we_ were dating because I actually love her."

"Well, maybe me and Jade aren't to the point in our relationship where we can use the l-word yet but we're still dating Beck. Deal with it!" I fire back.

"So you _actually_ like her?"

"Yes!"

"And you can honestly look me in the eyes and tell me that."

"Yes!" He raises his eyebrows at me, waiting for me to finish the rest. So I look him in the eyes and I say it. "I really like her."

He looks a bit taken aback, like he wasn't expecting me to be able to do it. _I'm_ even surprised I was able to do it, to be honest.

"Why?" he asks softly.

"_Why_?" I frown.

"Yeah, look me in the eyes and tell me _why _you like her."

I look down. Can I? I don't even think I _do _like her. Beck's right. She's not a very nice person. She _did _kick me this morning. But it _was_ an accident. And the way she looked at me when she saw that I was really hurt, the way she grabbed the closest thing to her and pressed it to my mouth, the way she looked at me as she apologized…She's no monster.

But then the bush daisies. That was bad too, right? But the _reason _she did it. Maybe she could've just talked to me like a normal person, but she did it because she doesn't trust Ryder. She didn't want me near him. She wanted to keep me safe.

The sound of a honking horn, _my _honking horn, makes me jump. I turn back and see Jade standing by the passenger door. She's giving me this look, a mix of a frown and mild curiosity.

I turn back around and look Beck in the eyes and answer his question. "She's good to me, Beck. She makes me feel…safe." I whisper the last part before turning and jogging back toward my car.

God, what if I messed that up? What if I didn't say the right things? And why was he like that? Did he genuinely want to help me? Did he genuinely think I _needed_ the help? Or was he jealous? Does he want Jade back now? Because I don't think…I just don't think I'm ready to give her back yet. This Jade, the one who's tolerating me simply because she's dating me to make her ex jealous, is a thousand times better than the Jade who hates my guts and openly shows it. And I'm not ready to go back to that Jade.

I remember my promise, I do. I remember that I'm supposed to be helping Jade and Beck get back together, but I guess I'm just hoping that doesn't happen until Jade no longer hates me. That we can be friends afterward instead of going back to the way things were.

"What was that all about?" Jade questions when I get into the car.

"Nothing. Seatbelt." I order shortly while putting mine on for emphasis.

Jade ignores me.

And so does Riley. She pops her head up in between our seats and asks, "What'd Beck want to talk to you about?"

"You know, Vega, I was wondering the same damn thing." Jade says, choosing _now_ to get along with her little sister.

Isn't that some bull chiz.

"I said it's nothing. Sit _back_ Riley."

"Was he asking you for Jade back?" she ignores me.

I wince a little and my heart skips a beat. The thought of giving Jade back now just really doesn't sit well with me.

"Sit back and put your seatbelt on, Riley." I tell her again, forcing the words out as calmly as I can. I can feel myself getting upset and I don't want to take it out on anyone.

Riley turns her attention on Jade. "So if he wanted you back, would you dump Tori and go back with him?"

"Get outta my face," Jade scowls, totally changing the subject so that she won't have to answer the question, because we both know what her answer would be. It'd be yes. She would dump me to go back to him.

"Get outta my face." Riley mimics and I just can't take it. I'm not in the mood for that bull chiz right now.

I turn in my seat abruptly and face Riley. "Sit back and put your seatbelt on, right now!" I yell.

She blinks at me.

"Ya!" I scream. Subconsciously, I realize that she probably has absolutely no idea what the heck ya means, but I just know in my soul that she knows exactly whatI _mean_ for her to do just by my tone alone.

And she does. She scrambles back into her seat and hastily buckles herself in.

I turn to Jade who's still unbuckled as well. I'm not in the mood for her either. I reach across her and buckle her in myself. "Leave it!" I command as soon as I hear it snap in place.

I glare at her, daring her to unbuckle herself. I can't see the look on my face, I can't see what she sees when she looks at me, I have no way of knowing just how intimidating or should I say_ not_ intimidating I look, but I _know _that if she takes that damn seatbelt off…

She stares back at me, eyes wide and then she says, "Okay."

If I wasn't so irritated I would've been proud of myself; that I, Tori Vega, got Jade to listen to me, but that's not the mood I'm in. So I simply start my car up and pull off.

She's still staring at me. Five, ten, even fifteen minutes later, she's still staring at me. I can feel it, but I ignore her…the whole time.

Then she speaks. "What did he say to you?"

I could pretend to not know who and what she's talking about; but again, I'm not in the mood.

"Nothing." I answer shortly.

She nods her head almost as if she was expecting that answer from me before pulling out her phone.

I ignore that, she's probably going online to watch some videos or check TheSlap or whatever, but then she puts the phone to her ear and I realize she'd been dialing out. She's calling someone.

It makes me a little nervous.

"Who are you calling?" I ask, not exactly expecting an answer from her.

"Beck."

Crap! "Why?"

"He said something to make you mad and if you won't tell me"-

"Mami, no. Just forget it." I panic. I don't want him to know that he affected me so bad. Especially because I can't for the life of me figure out _why _the things he said affected me so bad.

"No." she says stubbornly. "Either you talk, or I talk to him."

Fine.

"He just…can't believe we're dating is all." I answer. "It bugged me."

Jade stares at me for a second before putting her phone away. I breathe an audible sigh of relief That is until she places her hand on my back.

I tense up, not knowing what her intentions are; but then she dips her hand under my shirt and starts rubbing circles onto my bare back. Just the way I like it.

I let out a long sigh. It feels good. Really good. And it's having this weird calming effect on me.

Jade reaches over and turns on y radio and that's when I realize just how silent the ride to Jade's had been. I feel guilty immediately. I caused that silence. I snapped at everyone in this car, well, everyone except for Amber. And for what? Why am I even upset? I can't even figure that out.

I park in front of Jade's and everyone starts to unbuckle, but I can't just let that happen. I have a very important apology to make.

"Riley, hang back." I say.

"Or what?" She scowls back at me rather nastily. Her hand's already on the handle. She can't wait to get away from me.

"Please." I beg.

She lets go of her handle and sits back in her seat.

"See you later, babe." Jade announces before leaning in to kiss my lips.

I duck out of reflex. "It hurts." I point to my bottom lip, reminding her that it's busted.

She grabs my face with one hand and I grimace. She's still gonna kiss me. She doesn't care that it hurts. She's still Jade. She's probably gotta get me back for yelling at her in front of the twins.

I brace myself for the pain.

It doesn't come. She kisses my top lip, and _only_ my top lip, and gently to boot. I'm grinning like a maniac when she pulls back.

"Don't worry about it. He'll come around." She reassures me before dropping a light kiss on my shoulder.

"I hope so." I smile. And I just know it's one of my goofy ones.

She winks at me. Then points to the back seat. "You need help with that?"

It takes me a second to figure out that she's talking about Riley.

I shake my head and wave her away. I got this.

I climb over my seat and sit next to Riley. She refuses to look at me.

"I could say I'm sorry for yelling at you;" I start off. She rolls her eyes but otherwise continues to stare out her window. "But you know that already don't you? You know that I never want to hurt your feelings, or make you sad." I tug on her hair a little and she keeps still. I take the fact that she doesn't jerk away from me as a good sign. "So…whaddo I gotta do to make you not mad at me anymore, huh? I'll do anything." I plead.

"_Anything_?" She questions.

"Anything." I repeat, seriously relieved that she's talking to me. Riley turns to me with a huge grin on her face and her small hand held out for me to shake. "You owe me a _huge_ favor."

"Done." I smile and shake on it, not alarmed in the least. The last time I owed her a "big favor" she wasted it on piggy back rides at Freezy Queen. And I'd gladly give her a dozen more right now in exchange for her forgiveness.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: **All I can say is that I'm so sorry. I tried. I really did try to upload within a reasonable time, but every time I tried to edit this chapter, it just got longer and longer. Can you believe it started as 6,000 words? But then I had to add stuff, and rework stuff, and delete stuff _just_ to put in even longer stuff, and then I kept finding mistakes…it was a hot mess. Probably still is; but I just can't read this stupid chapter again. Not one more damn time. I'll just _die _of boredom. I guess I could leave it alone, take a week's break from it and then come back with fresh eyes, but I just feel like you've waited long enough, you know? So please forgive me and all the mistakes you'll undoubtedly find.

Also, I'm thinking this fic will end up being m-rated. Just a fair warning.

{~~~JADE~~~}

My phone buzzes. I don't know what time it is, but I know it's entirely too fucking early for someone to be texting me.

_Language! _Tori scolds me.

"I can curse in my mind if I want to." I mumble. I've long since stopped questioning my sanity when I verbally answer Tori back. Especially because I only seem to do it when I'm either drifting off, or just waking up.

I pat my nightstand until I find the stupid thing and nearly turn it off without checking who the message was from; but curiosity gets the best of me.

I have to squint my eyes a little because the screen's entirely too bright and I can't read what the stupid little words say. Not until after nearly a minute of straining anyway.

**Vega: **Good morning! Wanna go to the beach with me?

That's what the stupid little words on my phone say.

Seriously?

I blink in disbelief a few times at the text, then at the time.

Seven o'clock.

It's Saturday, the sun's barely up, and my girlfriend just texted me wanting to know if I wanted to go to the beach with her….at seven o'clock in the fuckin' morning!

Honestly, going to the beach today is not an entirely bad idea, but getting up _now_ to do it…?

I turn my phone off and roll over after texting her back a quick "hell no!"

When I wake up again, my phone says it's eleven. I wipe the morning buggers out of my eyes and double check it. It just _has_ to be wrong. Not that I would never sleep in that late, but because Thing One and Thing Two have made it a habit to come into my room no later than nine in the morning on days that are school free, just to bother the crap out of me. Yet, I haven't heard so much as a peep from either one of them.

I get up slowly, yawning and stretching out my kinks before telling myself not to be stupid; to just to take advantage of the peace and go back to sleep.

And I try to do just that; but no more than a full minute of me lying in my bed passes before I realize it's not gonna work. I can't go back to sleep. I feel like something's wrong…or missing.

Dammit! It's the brats. I _can't_ just go back to sleep. There is a certain way my mornings have been going for the last couple of years, and it's as follows:

One of those brats, usually Riley, comes into my room to pester me awake.

Then I yell at it.

Then it goes downstairs to tell on me.

Then Joy comes up and asks me to be nice to it.

I mutter under my breath about where she can shove it.

She huffs and calls me "un-freaking believable."

And then I groan and go back to sleep.

That's how it's always been. And that's how I need it to be. I don't take to change very well.

God, I seriously sound like one of those OCD freaks with the fucking…_routines_.

With a loud and very frustrated groan, I get up and head out into the hallway to take my morning wazz. I barely register something's off until I actually make it to the bathroom. Then it hits me. The silence. It's _never_ this quiet when the brats are here unless…

I frown. Those little shits are up to something; and I'm willing to bet that whatever it is was Riley's idea. God, that kid works my nerves like no other…

I go into their bedroom, not even bothering to knock. I just wanna spoil their plans and get this bull chiz over with.

But they're not here.

That's…odd, but certainly not too strange. There are other places the little pre-terds can be.

So, I start checking. I check the bathroom, then Joy's room, even the empty room that none of us are allowed to go into. It's been a rule for four years; but Riley's brave enough to break that rule, and Amber's spineless enough to get coaxed into breaking the rule with her sister.

I come up with nothing. They're not up here.

No big deal, there's still all of downstairs to check.

So I head that way next, opting to check the kitchen first. Unfortunately for me, I come face-to-butt with Joy rummaging through the fridge.

"Gross." I mutter.

She turns to me and gives me a nervous smile. "Morning, sweetheart." She says before pulling out eggs and milk; then shutting the fridge with her hip.

She drops an egg. And when she bends over to pick up the pieces of shell, she drops another.

"Crap." She mutters. Then she quickly cleans up the mess and gets more eggs out of the fridge.

I narrow my eyes at her. What the hell is she so nervous about?

"Why are you so jumpy?" I ask her. I try to sound as nonchalant and bored as possible, but I'm not so sure I pulled it off. When Joy's jumpy, Jade gets jumpy.

"I'm not," she claims while simultaneously spilling a bit of milk on the counter. "You ready for breakfast?" she asks me. As if _that_'ll cover up what she just did.

"Where're the brats?" I reply, strategically changing the subject so that the next time I ask her why she's so jittery maybe she'll be caught off guard and answer me. Trust me, it sounds like people should be way too smart to fall for that shit, but it works more often than it doesn't.

Only I forget my plans when Joy's answer throws me through a loop.

"They went to the beach with Tori. Do you want eggs and toast or are you gonna just do cereal today?"

"W-what?" I splutter as I choke on absolutely nothing. Did she just…there's no way she said the brats are with my girlfriend.

Joy frowns. "I thought you knew. Tori said she texted you this morning and you texted back that you didn't want to"-

"I know what I texted her back!" I interrupt.

"So…" she makes this gesture with her hands, silently asking me what the problem is.

"So you just let the brats go with some girl you barely even know?!" is the only thing I can come up with that doesn't make me sound like I'm having a temper tantrum because everybody went somewhere fun without me.

"They have names, Jade." She sighs exasperatedly with a huge show of rolling her eyes. She's not buying it for a second, because let's face it; I wouldn't care if she sent the brats off with Freddie Krueger. "And your girlfriend seems to be a very responsible young lady. Besides, I thought you'd be glad to have them out of your hair for a day. Lord knows I could use the break." She winks at me. "Now hurry up and make up your mind before I put this stuff away. Will it be a hot or cold breakfast for you?"

"Neither!" I snap.

"What's with the sour mood?"

"When am I not in a sour mood?" I growl at her. She smiles back at me, like she thinks I'm adorable. I fucking _hate _it when she does that.

I stomp my way back up the stairs and into my room before dialing my soon-to-be-dead girlfriend.

"Hello?" A small voice that definitely doesn't belong to Vega greets me.

I scowl down at my phone before pressing it to my ear once again.

"Put Vega on the phone." I demand, not even bothering to ask which one of the little pre-terds answered. I'd say Riley's bold enough to do it; but then again, Vega could've easily asked Amber to do it.

"She's busy."

Must be Thing One.

"Riley…" I warn.

"I'm Amber. And Tori really _is_ busy, Jade. She's talking to Beck so she told me to answer her phone and tell whoever it is that she's busy. I'm sorry."

My eyes widen as I feel the rage coming. What…the _fuck_…are they doing _together_…at the fucking-

_Calm down, Jade. You don't even know what's going on. _Tori coaches me. And usually I'd tell her to fuck off, but I find myself hoping she's right. That maybe the idea that Vega and Beck are on some kind of traditional family-looking outing, just smiling lovingly into each other's eyes and making sandcastles with the brats is a ridiculous notion.

Vega wouldn't cheat on me. She likes breathing.

"What the hell is Beck doing there?" I ask calmly. Well, more calmly than I thought I was capable of doing right now.

"Um, they're arguing."

Good. Arguing's good.

"About what?" I press.

"Um…"

This kid and her goddamn ums.

"Put Riley on the phone." I snap, losing my patience.

I hear Amber give the phone over and tell Riley who it is.

"Jade." Riley greets.

"Talk to me." I demand. I know she'll know what I mean and that she won't pussy foot around.

"Beck thinks you guys only came to the beach because he put it on TheSlap that _he_ was coming to the beach today, and he says that you guys are trying too hard to always make sure he sees you guys together, but he"-

"Whoa, whoa. Stop it right there. I'm not even _at _the beach." I interrupt; both so that I can point that crucial piece of information out, and so that Riley can take a freakin' breath. Maybe even a couple of 'em.

"Tori said you'll be here later." She says conversationally. And I can just imagine she ended that with shrug of her shoulders.

"Why would Vega say I'll be there later? I told her I didn't want to go to the beach."

"I don't know. She just said that once you realize everyone's here without you, you'll come just to argue with her."

Shit. She's right. She's absolutely right. And I don't like that. I don't like that I'm so predictable. Better yet, I don't like how Vega was able to predict what I'll do. In fact, I _really _don't like it, so much to the point where I might just stay home, teach her that she can't manipulate me into doing what she wants.

"But I think you should stay home." Riley continues. "It's more fun without you. I get to have Tori _all_ to myself." She proclaims.

I grind my teeth together.

I'm not jealous. I swear it. Riley's eight. She doesn't have a chance with my girlfriend. Still, it bugs me when the little brat does and says the things she does concerning Vega. I don't know why, but I know it's _not _jealousy.

"Put Vega on the phone now."

"But she said"-

"Now!"

"Fine! But if she yells at me again..."

I roll my eyes. What would she possibly do to me if Vega yelled at her again? In fact, I would _love_ to see her get yelled at again.

I'm not gonna lie, I was a bit shocked at first; but after that wore off, I realized just how hot my girlfriend can be when she's mad. The way her mouth set into that thin little line and she tried her best to keep all that rage in check; the way her eyes widened in unquenchable fury, like there was an inferno blazing behind those darkened irises…

Wait, what the hell am I thinking?

_You were thinking-_

Shut the fuck up, Tori, I interrupt my conscience before she can say, or make me think, something incredibly stupid. Besides, I can hear Beck now. He's saying something about how unnecessary it is for us to try and prove ourselves to him by always throwing our relationship in his face. And there's a huge emphasis on the word "relationship;" which means he still doesn't believe us. He's still in denial.

"Phone, Tori."

"Riley, I'm busy." Vega answers. She sounds a bit agitated, but not as pissed as I'd seen her Thursday.

Pity.

"You do know you told Amber to answer your phone, right?" Beck cuts in; obviously suggesting Vega just called Amber by Riley's name.

I roll my eyes. The terds must be wearing the same suit or something. Beck can't tell them apart to save his life. Well, he can, but only by personalities. He knows that Riley's rowdy and Amber's an angel. If Riley pretends to be Amber, then that's who he thinks she is, and vice versa.

"It's _Jade_. Want me to tell _her _you're busy?" Riley interrupts them again.

I don't hear Vega's response to that. But I do hear Beck say _something_ and then Vega laughs at whatever it was.

If that's the way they argue, I don't like it one bit.

"Hey, Mami." My girlfriend says after a bit. I'm guessing she walked away from Beck so she can talk to me.

"Don't you "Hey Mami" me!" I snap back.

"What's wrong with you?"

Seriously?

"What's wrong me? What the hell are you doing at the beach?"

"I told you I was going." She sighs like she's already told me three hundred times that the sky is blue, not green.

"You didn't say anything about taking the brats!" I growl.

"Oh, I had to bring Riley. I owed her a favor for yelling at her Thursday; and why not bring Amber too. You're the one who said you didn't want to come." She accuses.

I narrow my eyes. "So that means go without me?"

"You don't like ultimatums."

"Yeah, well I don't like being tricked and manipulated either!"

"No one's tricking or manipulating you, Jade." She sighs calmly.

I hate it when she does that. Stays all calm while I'm yelling at her. It makes me feel like I'm a kindergartener having a tantrum while she's trying to be the calm rational adult.

I take a deep breath and answer her the way she's been answering me. Calmly and rationally. We'll both be the fuckin' adult. "Oh? So you _didn't_ tell Riley that once I realized everyone went without me that I would make my way over there?"

"Yeah. But I meant it more like you'd come on your own time; and not when I was telling you to."

"Of course you did." I answer sarcastically.

"Well here's an easy solution for you then, Jade. Just don't come at all."

My rebuttal gets cut off by the all too familiar sound of a call being ended. She hung up on me.

_Nobody_ hangs up on me.

I call her back. One ring, two rings, three rings, four and more…. No answer. I'm gonna kill this girl!

"Hello?" the phone finally gets answered. But it's a deep voice. One that doesn't belong to Vega, and it definitely doesn't belong to one of the brats.

"Who is this?"

"Don't tell me you don't recognize my voice, Jade."

"Maybe I don't recognize why you're answering my girlfriend's phone, Beck." I spit back.

"Maybe Riley grabbed her hand when she saw her looking oh so sad and dragged her in the water to play, _Jade_."

God he's immature.

_Explain to me why you want him back…_

Shut the fuck up, Tori.

_Language!_

Ugh! Okay, Jade focus. What'd Beck say? Something about Riley dragging Vega off to the water to play, right?

Sounds like something Riley would do. Hopefully it _was_ Riley. You can never take Beck's word when it comes to who's who with the brats, and I _really_ need to talk to Amber.

I hang up on Beck and call Thing Two up. Thankfully she answers.

"Jade?"

"Where are you guys? And I mean the exact location."

Amber's not so good with directions as she's only eight, but she gives me very specific landmarks and I quickly figure it out.

"Don't tell anyone I'm coming. Okay, Bugger."

"Okay, Jade." She promises.

I run down the hallway and nearly run straight into Joy. Thankfully, I skid to a stop just seconds before impact…but she doesn't seem to notice. Which I would think is weird if I hadn't noticed where her attention is focused.

It's the room. The one we're not supposed to go in. The one I went into when I was looking for the girls earlier. The door's wide open…because I didn't shut it behind me.

Shit.

Joy reaches out tentatively and grabs the handle. I thought she was jittery in the kitchen before; that was _nothing_. The way her hand is shaking now…

She swallows several times, but obviously that does nothing for her because she clears her throat next. "Jade, did you?" She asks softly. She doesn't have to finish the rest. I don't even think she _can_ finish the rest; but I know what she's asking.

"I'm sorry." I swallow nervously. I don't tell her that I was looking for her daughters because I already know no excuse would be good enough.

She shuts the door firmly before taking a deep breath and locking eyes with me. "You need a ride to the beach, sweetie?" she asks so quietly that I have to resort to a little lip reading just to catch the full sentence.

What? That's it? I fully expected her to kill me. Literally.

"But we have to go now because I made plans." She continues with a brief glance to her watch-less wrist.

She's trying to tease me.

"Like a date." I accuse, teasing her back just a little. I carefully watch her as she answers, trying to figure out why the fuck I'm still standing here, unscathed and still breathing, after Joy's learned I'd been in that room.

"No I'm going to the spa…alone…unless, you wanna come with me." She smiles.

I frown back at her. There's no way I'd go to the spa with Joy right now. She only goes to the spa when she's extremely stressed.

"I'll take that as a no then."

I nod my head. "I'll go get my swim suit and stuff."

"I thought so."

I just stand there, still frozen and too freaked out to move.

"Well, hurry up, Jade. I don't have all day!" She claps her hands together for emphasis.

"But"- I shake my head and stop right there. Maybe it would be smart of me to leave it alone.

I get ready in record time. Not because Joy's rushing me, but because I want to. I want to get to the beach as soon as possible and wring Riley's, Vega's, and Beck's necks. Not necessarily in that order.

I fly down the stairs and into Joy's car. She meets me there about a minute later as she actually took the time to lock up and stuff.

I start setting up my music, plugging my earphones in to my phone and selecting the first song I wanna listen to. All rides with Joy are much more endurable when there's music in my ears; but before I can put my buds in Joy speaks.

"Jade, honey." She starts off.

"What?"

"Um...I was speaking with Grayson this morning; then um Ellen got on the line with me for a bit."

Ah. Now everything makes sense. The way Joy was all jumpy earlier while making breakfast. The way she let me get away with going into the room…it all makes sense now.

I keep my mouth shut and my eyes forward. I don't have anything to say. I never have anything to say when my parents are brought up. I hate them more than I dislike Joy.

"She wants you to call her."

Well that's a first.

"Why?"

Joy keeps her eyes on the road; the only indication that she's heard me is the whitening of her knuckles as she grips the steering wheel tighter.

"She wants to talk to you I guess." And if my stepmother wasn't looking so nervous right now, I would've taken her response for sarcasm as it's only _obvious_ that when someone wants you to call them, it's so that they can talk to you.

I don't have an answer for that, so I don't give one. I don't even feel like shrugging.

"So…"

I roll my eyes. Of course Joy doesn't recognize my way of showing I'm not interested in talking about this.

"Jade?" She tries again.

"What does she want to talk to me about?" I ask. I can feel the fear beginning to worm its way into my chest. And I hate it. I absolutely hate that just one mention of Ellen and I start to get all claustrophobic-like. I get the malfunctioning heart, the cotton mouth, the shortage of breath….That woman… what could she possibly want? What? Certainly not me. Please God, don't let it be me, I pray silently.

"I don't know, honey. She just wants you to call." Joy answers, seemingly oblivious, as she always seems to be, of the negative reaction I have at the mention of Ellen's name. Then again, I _do _make sure to guard my expression pretty damn well.

"And if I don't call her?" I keep my tone light, flippant.

Joy relaxes just a little, but I barely notice. I'm too busy worrying about myself, about my fears.

"Please don't tell me you're gonna try and _make _me?" I challenge, crossing my arms over my chest.

Joy smiles.

I frown back at her. What's she smiling about? Does she know something I don't? What'd she and Ellen talk about anyway? Did they make "arrangements" or something?

"If I call her, do you think she's gonna ask me move to New York with her…and him?" I ask, deciding not to play the mental 'what if' game and see if I can actually get some freaking answers.

"She might." Joy answers, her smile dropping into a small frown. "Which way am I going again, sweetie?"

I roll my eyes and direct her before putting my music back in.

I feel sick. There's this sinking feeling in my gut and I know it'll be there for a while. I _hate_ it when Joy mentions Ellen. I always feel like it'll give her ideas. Like the fact that I already _have_ a mother. She doesn't _have_ to deal with me; she can send me away. She can make me live with Ellen and _him_, my father.

I've been keeping my distance from Joy, preparing for the day that she _does_ send me away. That way I can trick my mind into thinking that I didn't like her anyway. That I practically hate her in fact; but I don't. I don't hate her at all. Even if she is annoying as hell.

In fact, sometimes, and _only_ sometimes, I actually wish I was hers…biologically. That way she _can't_ send me away. That way I don't have to be nervous every time she mentions my father, or Ellen.

I pull my ear bud out and stare at her. She still looks pretty wound up. And I can't help but wonder why. Is it me? Is she nervous I'll do something to her when I learn she's trying to send me away again? Because she tried once. She fed me some bullshit line about how she thought I might be happier with my parents.

I wasn't.

I made Ellen and my father's life hell. It didn't take them too long to send me back. I wasn't even gone for a month.

I've been giving Joy hell too. I've never entirely forgiven her for sending me away in the first place.

"Do you _want_ me to go?" I suddenly blurt out before I even realize I'd been wondering about it.

"I want you to do what's right for you." She answers, not even bothering to pretend she doesn't know what I'm talking about in order to buy herself a little time until she can find the right words to say to me. Still, the answer that was given was a cop-out answer.

Not what I wanted. I really wanna know. I want to know just how bad she wants me gone. So, I try again.

"I said do you want me to go, not what do you think I should do."

"It doesn't matter what I want, this is your life. It's about you. Whatever you want. I shouldn't try to influence your decision." She answers.

Another fuckin' cop-out answer.

"You wanna know what I want, Joy? What I really want? A straight answer to my fucking question."

"Watch your language!" She snaps back at me.

I nearly tell her not to fucking tell me what to do because she's not my fucking mother, but I keep it between myself…and Tori. I let her yell at me for my impure thoughts the rest of the way to the beach because I absolutely refuse to say another word to Joy.

We _finally_ make it and Joy parks to let me out; but before I can slam the door shut she says, "No, Jade."

"No Jade, what?" I scowl back.

"I don't want you to go." She looks me in my eyes as she tells me this so that I can see just how sincere she is. And with the look she's giving me right now, she can tell me the Easter Bunny's real and I'd believe her.

But it's not enough.

"Why?" I just _have_ to ask.

"If you don't already know why, then you probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

"Shut the door, I'm gonna be late."

I do as I'm told. And she drives off.

I stare after the car for a bit before shrugging it off. That woman…

It takes maybe five minutes of scouring the beach before I spot Vega, the girls, Beck and… Meredith.

Nobody told me _she _was here.

And no one seems to notice my arrival either. They're all sitting on beach towels, eating and merrily talking about god knows what.

I was right though, Riley and Amber are wearing the same swim suit. Vega's wearing a t-shirt and I find myself wondering what kind of suit she's wearing underneath. One or two pieces?

I hope it's two.

Wait, what?

I shake my head and refuse to think about _anything _else as I make my way toward the group. My brain's being stupid.

Riley is the first one to notice me when I get a little closer, and as soon as she spots me, she gets up and plops down into Vega's lap.

God, that girl…

"What?" Vega asks, completely unaware of my presence and focusing all of her attention on the brat in her lap.

As an answer, Riley shows her the chewed up food in her mouth.

Gross.

I expect Vega to gag and push Riley away, instead she \opens her mouth and shows Riley all the chewed up contents of her lunch as well.

"Gross!" Riley gags before scooting out of my girlfriend's lap. But she doesn't go far. She sits right next to Vega.

"You started it, Monstrito." Vega laughs.

"I'm glad you guys are having so much fun without me." I say, meaning for my announcement to be addressed to everyone, but my gaze settles on Vega's face and stops there. Her eyes almost literally light up at the sight of me. A reaction too quickly made to be considered acting…unless she knew I was here the whole time. But I know she didn't.

Vega's genuinely glad to see me.

And what's even weirder is that I…don't feel an absolute sense of dread at the sight of her.

"Jade, you remember Meredith, don't you?" Beck cuts in, motioning toward the girl sitting next to him.

"Girl with the cupcakes." I deadpan while squeezing in between Riley and Vega. I don't fully make it because the little terd is being a bit stubborn, not wanting to give up her seat; but I fix that. "Move over," I grunt as I push Riley out of the way.

"Don't hit me, you stupid gank!" She smacks my arm pretty damn hard before scampering to the other side of Vega.

My girlfriend puts a protective arm around Riley. "You hit her first, Jade" She tells me, obviously thinking I'm about to kill the little twerp. And I should…I really, _really _should, but I just don't really feel like it right now.

I shrug my shoulders and look down at my arm, exploring the little red handprint that's already starting to form. Well, it's not a whole handprint, more like some deformed alien-looking fingers. I smirk a little at the sight. I always knew that kid wasn't human.

"Hi Jade!" Meredith greets.

Technically, I didn't forget she's here, but I _had _planned on ignoring her. So I don't answer. I continue to inspect my arm, though it's now boring me.

_That's so rude, Jade!_

Bite me.

_No, you like that._

Yes. Why yes I do.

Then Vega nudges me in the rib.

Ugh! I swear I'm getting so tired of being double-teamed by them!

"Hello Meredith." I say politely, looking up to meet her eyes.

"Hi Jade!" she repeats excitedly. I think it's my first time calling her something other than bi-

_Jade!_

Fine. I think it's my first time calling her something other than the b-word.

"Want one?" Meredith asks while pulling a cupcake out of thin air.

"They're really good." Beck taunts.

I roll my eyes, but otherwise take it from her. It _does _look really good. And I'm hungry.

"Not bad." I tell her after taking a huge bite.

"Thank you!" She gushes.

Everyone else is staring at me. And I know why. There's something wrong with me. I can feel it. I should've threatened Beck with my shiniest and sharpest pair of scissors for bringing Meredith out here. I should've taken the cupcake Meredith offered to me and thrown it down; stomped it into the sand even; _not_ eat it. But I didn't do any of those things. I don't even _feel_ like doing any of those things.

I know I should at _least_ pretend to be jealous, but I…

Wait, _pretend_?

I'm_ not_ jealous? Beck brought another girl to the beach, she's in my fucking face, but I'm not jealous. Why the heck aren't I jealous?

"Jade, are you okay?" Vega asks beside me.

I nearly snap at her, but the sincerity in those big brown eyes…I don't feel like it.

Fuck. Now I know something's wrong with me.

I shrug my shoulders; hopefully I can shrug the weirdness away too. "I'm just having a weird morning." I answer her. "I'm feeling a little off."

She brings a hand to my forehead, then feels my cheeks and the sides of my neck while wearing an adorably serious frown on her face.

Crap, I just called Vega a_-fucking-_dorable!

_Language!_

Fuck off, Tori! Damn.

"You feel fine, Mami." Vega announces.

"I said I feel _off, _not sick." I snap back at her.

"You're grumpy." She states, eyes furrowed as she studies me with her head tilted to the side.

I blink at her. She's so fucking weird.

"Did you have coffee this morning?"

Coffee? …

My eyes widen. COFFEE!

I shake my head. I didn't. I didn't have a freakin' coffee. No wonder my brain's all foggy and I'm all out of sorts. I didn't have coffee!

"That's what I thought. Maybe I can help." She says. "Mamita, will you pass me my beach bag?"

Amber's within reaching distance, but she has to actually get up to get it because it's a big ass bag, probably heavy as hell too. She hauls it over and drops it into Vega's lap. Afterward, she plops down right next to me.

I suddenly realize she was sitting next to Meredith before and my jaw twitches. For some reason, that bugs me.

"Now, where the heck are you?" Vega mutters while going through the bag.

My eyebrows furrow into a confused frown while Vega continues to dig through her enormous beach bag. There's no way she has coffee in there. But then she pulls out a slender tube of lip gloss and applies a generous amount to her lips, and I start to get it.

"Oh God, please tell me that's what I think it is…" I moan desperately. Because now that I've realized I haven't had coffee, I'm feeling the strain.

"It is." She whispers just before pressing her lips to mine.

"Mmm." I moan, low in my throat. I don't know where the hell she got coffee flavored lip gloss, but I'll be forever grateful to the genius who thought it up.

I grab Vega's face in my hands to steady her as I latch on to her top lip first. I'm a save the best for last kind of girl and her bottom lip is fuller, which means it's carrying more of the gloss.

It's funny, I don't think of this as "kissing." Not at all…at least, not until she opens her mouth, just a little, slowly takes in my bottom lip and_ makes_ it a kiss.

Whoa daddy. I can't believe I've forgotten how good she is at this!

Mind you, she hasn't kissed me this way since our double date _weeks_ ago. She's just been nipping me here and biting me there. Now, I'm not complaining. I love the biting thing; I just forgot how good she is at the _kissing_ thing,

And I have every intention of reminding myself.

I take my time, savoring her lips. The top. The bottom. The corners…

It's gone. The taste of coffee is all gone, but Vega's kisses are just as intoxicating. She _really_ knows how to use those lips of hers, and I find myself wondering if it can get any better. If maybe, just maybe…

I slip my tongue into her slightly parted mouth.

She pulls back immediately.

"What?" I practically whine.

"I think it's all gone." She pants. Face beginning to go pink.

"Well, I want more." I demand.

Vega shakes her head and I glare at her. I _really _hate it when she tells me no.

"Not in front of the kiddies." She says, motioning toward the audience I've _completely_ forgotten about.

Crap!

"We're fine Tori." Riley shrugs. "At least you guys have clothes on this time."

"Riley!" Vega's blush gets even darker and I decide right then and there that she looks good with 'em. Blushes I mean.

"What?" Riley frowns. "What'd I do?"

"Whatever happens in Casa de West, stays there." I tell the brat, coming to my girlfriend's rescue.

"So, you've seen them without clothes on, with each other?" Beck cuts in skeptically.

I narrow my eyes at him. That was so inappropriate. And I hope for his sake that he wasn't _actually_ expecting an answer from the kid.

"Don't answer that!" Vega squeals, obviously on the same page as me.

"I _already_ answered that." Riley frowns.

I snort. She's totally right. She answered Beck's question before he even asked it.

Vega glares at me. She doesn't find anything funny about it.

"What? She's got a point." I shrug, taking Riley's side for maybe the third time in her entire life, because as much as the brat gets on my nerves, I find my girlfriend's discomfort _highly_ amusing. Plus, it serves her right for not giving me more Vega coffee gloss when I asked for it.

"Can we _please _just change the subject?" Vega begs me.

Well I do like to be begged…

I tilt my head, almost as if I'm thinking about it, and she scowls at me before pulling Riley up to her side and covering her ears firmly.

"Hey!" Riley exclaims, but makes no move to get away.

Vega motions with her head for me to do the same with Thing Two.

I groan and roll my eyes before beckoning Amber to me. She gives me a confused look as she's already sitting next to me. So I point to my lap.

"Sit." I command.

Hesitantly, she gets up and plops her nonexistent butt onto my thighs. She's lucky she only weighs a quarter of a pound, otherwise that would've hurt and then I would've had to hurt her in return.

With the brat in my lap, I swivel around until me and Vega are face to face rather than sitting next to each other. Then I cover Amber's ears.

"What?" I hiss.

"Aw, that's adorable, the way they've worked that out. It's like they've been together for _ages._ Aren't they cute?" Meredith swoons.

Beck shrugs at her and _I_ ignore the fact that she called me cute because it will only make me want to rip all her hair out of her scalp.

"Do you mind?" I glare at Beck. It's obvious me and my girlfriend are about to have a _moment. _The polite thing to do would be to excuse himself and take his girlfriend with him.

"Not at all, go right ahead." He gestures between me and Vega, motioning for us to continue with our conversation as he pops some potato chips in his mouth.

God he's such a jerk.

_Again I say, why do you even want him back?_

Shut up, Tori.

"Are you guys done yet?" Riley whines.

I roll my eyes. We haven't even _started_.

Vega sighs deeply before pulling Riley into her lap with a huge grunt. Before the kid can protest, she is turned to the side and the whole left half of her face is pressed into Vega's chest.

"Jade. We need rules." Vega starts off.

"The hell we do." I scowl back, not liking the new position she and the brat are in, at all. But before I can say anything on the matter, Vega grabs two paper plates and asks me to pass her the chips.

_Oh…_I get it now; the face against the chest thing. Now that I've been asked to do something that requires the use of my hands, I realize just how impossible that task would've been with both hands against Amber's ears.

"If the girls are with us"-

"Maybe the girls shouldn't be with us all the time." I interrupt. Mimicking her position, I turn Amber to the side and press the side of her face into my chest. My left hand I keep pressed tightly against her ear, and with my right, I reach behind myself to snatch the bag of chips out of Beck's hands.

"Hey!" He exclaims.

"They're not with us_ all_ the time." She defends herself as I hand the bag over.

I pointedly look down at the brat currently sitting in my lap.

With a roll of her eyes, she pours some chips on a plate.

"The point I'm trying to make is that I'm not comfortable with saying, or _doing,_ certain things in front of them."

She hands Amber the plate and then starts one for Riley. I have to admit, that was good thinking on Vega's part. When the brats whine, give them something to put in their mouth.

It's genius.

"So what exactly are you _uncomfortable_ with? And be specific." I order.

I'm interrupted by Amber's very loud "thank you" to Vega. Why is it that when people can't hear, they fucking shout?

"Maybe we should start with the language." She announces while turning Riley back around to the front. She's using two hands to cover the kid's ears again.

"What's wrong with my language?" I would do that too, turn Amber back around, but it'd make it harder to steal chips off of her plate if I did. The kid's just gonna have to suffer with these jugs a little while longer.

"You called Riley a little s-word the other day." Vega deadpans.

"She _is_ a little…" I trail off when her eyes widen. "Fine, but I won't make any promises."

"But you'll try, right?"

"Yeah, whatever."

She smiles at me before moving on to her next point. "Anything that has to do with splunking's a no-go."

I roll my eyes and steal another chip from Amber. Not talking about fucking in front of the kiddies is a given.

"And kissing"-

Whoa. Wait a minute. Just back the fuck up.

"What about kissing?" I interject.

"We should have a time limit or something."

"What?"

"And maybe no tongue either."

She can't be serious.

"Vega! They've seen tonging on Nickelodeon. Don't be a prude!"

"I'm not a prude. I just…they're kids. I don't want to give them any ideas."

"Ideas like what?" I scoff.

"I don't know, what if they get curious and start wanting to practice or something. I mean, I did; but I was twelve. They're only eight"-

"Practicing in what way?" I cough on my stolen chip. Just the image of a little Vega practicing kissing in front of the mirror…hilarious.

"I never told you about Josephina?"

For some unknown reason, I stiffen, and my eyes narrow, and I_ glare_ at my girlfriend. _Josephina_? "No, you never told me about her." I say through clenched teeth.

"Really, I could've sworn I did. We were the best of friends until her parents got a divorce and she moved away. I was devastated. I really loved that girl." she finishes wistfully.

I literally have to make a conscious effort not to ball my hands into tight fists right now. I'm still holding onto Amber's ear and it's not the kid I want to hurt.

It's _Josephina_, and I don't even know why.

_You're so jealous._

Fuck off, Tori

_She said she was twelve, it was probably nothing._

I'd believe that if it weren't for the fact that my girlfriend was so "devastated" by _Josephina _moving out of state with her mother. It just makes me wonder where I would be in Vega's life if _Josephina_ hadn't moved away. Would they be dating right now?

Wait, what am I thinking? I'm not even interested in Vega for myself. She's just a means to an end. I'm just using her to get Beck back.

I take a breath and encourage myself to focus. Just get through this stupid day, and the next and the next….

Vega's still blabbering about fucking _Josephina_.

"The_ first _time we "experimented" was during truth or dare"-

"Whatever." I interrupt. "What else are you uncomfortable with?" I ask, getting her back on subject.

She tilts her head to the side and thinks about it for a second before saying, "the touching."

I roll my eyes. "Vega, that makes absolutely no sense."

"I'm not saying we can't touch at all, I'm just saying nothing too… _erotic."_

"My God, we might as well tell them we're just friends."

"_Jade_."

"I'm serious!" I hiss. "They're not stupid. They know what girlfriends do with each other!"

"Do they? They're not confused at all about the girlfriend thing? They don't think it's weird?" Beck cuts in out of fucking nowhere.

"Go away!" I snap. Then I set my eyes back on Vega. "We done?"

"No. there should be more rules."

"No. There shouldn't be _any_ rules at all. This is a waste of time. I don't see the problem with them seeing or hearing _some_ intimacy between us. Not after they've walked in on us so many times. Maybe our only rule should be to teach them how to knock."

Vega turns her face up to the sky and closes her. "Maybe you're right." She sighs.

"Damn right I am."

"But I don't know, just how many times do you think it will take for them to learn to knock? I mean, even Joy's walked in on us…"

I snort. "It's probably Joy sending them in there. Damn cockblocker."

"Here's an idea." Vega's eyes light up, like she's had a major epiphany. "Why can't we just ask Joy to let us lock the door just for a few minutes every time we want to…you know?"

"Just a _few_ minutes?" I tease.

"Jade!"

I roll my eyes. She's such a party pooper. "Because I don't think Joy likes it when we "you know" in the house to begin with. Hence the sending in of the mini cockblockers."

"Well then maybe we shouldn't"-

"Shouldn't what?" I cut her off, because if she's thinking about cutting me off, (even though I _do_ realize that I haven't actually been getting any), then we're gonna have a huge problem.

"Maybe not in the house." She tries.

"Then where? Your place is a no go as your dad's a _cop… _with a _gun_. We're banned from the janitor's closet, _all _of them…."

Vega blushes deeply. "There are other places, Jade."

"Like?"

She bites her lip and turns to look at the water before turning back to me. "I'm sure we can figure out _something._" She grins at me once my eyes widen, signaling that I understand what she means. And she means public places. Like the Ocean.

Oh, my girlfriend's a freak.

And with that, she lifts her hands from Riley's ear, ending our inappropriate-for-children conversation.

I nearly pout. It was just getting good too. I wanna hear about all these places were hypothetically gonna do it.

"Finally!" Riley exclaims. "I wanna get in the water now, come on Amber."

Amber doesn't move. I realize I've still got my hands pressed against the kid's ear and I let go.

She still doesn't move.

I look down and see that her eyes are closed, but it doesn't dawn on me that she's asleep until Vega says, "Wake her _gently_ Jade."

I scowl back at her, 'cause I had absolutely no plans on doing that. But then she leans in and kisses me, and I'm suddenly okay with it. Don't ask me why.

_You know why._

Fuck you, Tori.

"Aw, they'll be great mothers one day." Meredith croons. "Don't you think so Beck?"

"Jade doesn't want kids." Is Beck's sour reply. "Do you want kids Tori? Or do you think you two will even last that long?"

"Don't drop her, Mami!" Vega panics before I can respond to him. It's crazy weird how she can predict my actions. It's almost like she knew that Beck pissed me off so bad that I nearly lounged at him with the brat still in my arms. She wouldn't have had a big fall, but I probably would've trampled over her trying to get at him.

And the weirdest part is, I have no idea why I'm so mad. So what if he implied that me and Vega aren't going to marry each other? It's the truth. I don't even like her. Not really. Just the kissing. She's good at that. And when she's angry, she's kinda hot then; but that's about it.

Maybe I just didn't like the way he said it.

Yeah, that's what it was.

"What? It was a legit question." Beck defends himself. "I mean, I thought we'd be together forever, but look at us now." Then he turns to Vega. "And judging by the way you are with Jade's sisters, I'd say you want kids; but like I said, Jade doesn't want"-

"I wouldn't mind having kids with Vega." I butt in with a shrug.

"Really?" Vega gasps. She's got the I-just-got-down-on-one- knee-and-pulled-out-a-small-jewelry-box look on her face.

Crap. I was just trying to piss off Beck. I forgot she'd have to react to my declaration.

Time to play it off.

"Really," I nod. "Beck's right. You're good at this kind of stuff. You can stay home with the kiddies and I'll bring home the bacon." I wink at her.

"_That's _what you think will happen?" she scoffs.

"That's what I _know _will happen."

"Well, you're wrong. You can't just bring home the bacon. You've got to learn how to interact with the kids too or they'll have severe Daddy issues."

"Daddy issues?"

This chick does know that I'm a chick too, right?

"Yeah, so you might as well start practicing now." She inclines her head toward the sleeping brat in my arms.

"Wake her up. _Nicely_."

I sigh heavily. This girl…

But I do as she says.

"Bugger, wake up." I say as I pry her away from my chest gently. I look to Vega. She smiles and gives me the thumbs up. I roll my eyes back at her.

Amber starts rubbing her eyes, and when they're fully opened my face is the first thing she sees.

She screams and scrambles out of my lap. "I'm sorry, Jade!" she cries.

What the fuck?

"Ugh, we got a long way to go." Vega groans with a slap to her forehead.

"What are you talking about? I didn't even do anything to her!"

"Obviously, you've done enough. She's afraid of you!"

"She is not."

"So you're just that ugly then, huh? One look at you and everyone starts screaming and running for the hills?"

I narrow my eyes at her. Did she just…

"Can we go play in the water, now?" Riley whines.

"NO!" I stand to my feet, towering over the little brat. Can't she see we're busy?

"I WASN'T TALKING TO YOU, STUPID!"

"WHO THE FU"- I cut myself off when I catch the look on Vega's face. She's got both hands pressed against Amber's ears and she's shaking her head at me. She looks….disappointed.

Ugh, it's making me feel…dare I say, guilty?

UGGGHHH!

I take a deep breath and sit down. "Go play, Riley."

"W-what?" Riley stares at me, like she can't believe I just stopped, just like that. I didn't call her any names; I didn't even hit her.

"I _said_, go play. And take your sister with you."

"You gonna yell at Tori, or something?"

"Or something." I shrug.

She doesn't have to be told again after that. She grabs Amber's hand and they both head out. They nearly get away, but then…

"Wait!" Vega yells.

"Why?" Riley whines.

"Sunblock."

"But we already did that!" Riley calls back with a childish stomp.

It doesn't deter Vega in the least. "That was before, you need more."

"Ugh!" Riley groans before heading back reluctantly. Amber is much more cooperative, offering her body for Vega to lotion down first. Then it's Riley's turn. She pouts a little but otherwise doesn't resist.

"Now?" Riley raises her eyebrows hopefully.

"Not yet, hold out your hands." Vega commands, before putting some in both the girls' hands. Then she takes off her t-shirt.

Two piece. Navy blue two piece.

Nice.

"Now do my back real quick for me and then you can go."

Instead of more pouting, Riley grins. And I have this urge to strangle both my girlfriend and the brat. Vega _had _to know just how I'd feel about that; that I would not like it. And Riley doesn't hide the fact that she's aware of my discomfort. She sticks her tongue at me.

I flip her off.

She does it back.

"And none of that!" Vega yells at me.

I scowl back at her. She didn't say anything to Riley.

"Have fun you guys!" Vega says, her way of dismissing them once they're finally done rubbing her down.

Riley takes off, not wanting to get delayed for another second. "Come on slow poke," She calls over her shoulder.

"Wait for me, Riley!" Amber chases after her.

"And stay where I can see you!" Vega calls after them.

"We will," they both shout back.

"I find it strange that the twins did your girlfriend's back and not you." Beck says, voicing my thoughts in their entirety.

I look over at him and note that he's doing Meredith's for her. I'm pretty sure that's what he wanted, to get me to see it, but I'm a little busy wholeheartedly agreeing with what he said. _I _should have been the one rubbing sunblock on my girlfriend's back, not the two little monsters.

What was Vega thinking?

"I'd let Jade do it, but I can't right here in front of everyone. I'm too sensitive. It's embarrassing." Vega explains.

And just like that, I perk up, 'cause I get it now. God, my girlfriend's a freakin' genius.

"Too sensitive?" Beck frowns

"Yeah, too _sensitive_." I repeat, putting an emphasis on "sensitive." I wonder if he's playing dumb so that we'll have to explain, or if he really doesn't get it. "She gets horny when I touch her." I bluntly blurt out, just in case.

"Jade!"

"What? You do."

"Oh God." She groans while burying her face in her hands. "Jade, please. Stop saying stuff like that." She whines into her palms.

I smile wickedly at Beck. The look of discomfort on his face. _Priceless._

"Come on, let's go get wet." I give her a suggestive smile and nod my head toward the water. Her face turns even redder, and I can't help but to roll my eyes at her display of embarrassment. I mean, it _was_ her idea after all.

I quickly get rid of my shorts and tank top. Then I tug on her hands. "Come on, babe. Let's go." I grunt as I pull her up

"Wait!"

I give her a questioning look.

"You have to put on sunblock first." She bends down to pick the block up, and two guys just so happen to walk by. And their gazes just _happen_ to settle on my girlfriend's ass.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" I yell at them.

They quickly avert their eyes and practically jog away.

"I thought you were working on your language?" Vega scolds me.

"The brats didn't hear me."

"That's not the point."

I really don't care about what the point is. I only care about one thing…

"Can't you put some damn clothes on?" I snap at her.

"Huh?"

"They were staring at your ass!"

She looks behind herself. As if she forgot it was there. Then she looks back at me with complete and utter confusion written all over her face. "So?"

"_So?"_ What the fuck does she mean by "So?"?

"Yeah, we're at the beach. I'm not wearing much. They're guys. What did you expect?" She explains.

She's making a little sense, but she's _not _making me happy. I don't want anyone staring at my girlfriend's ass. It's mine. I don't share.

"We're never coming to the beach again." I decide. Then I pick up a towel and wrap it around her waist.

"really?" she rolls her eyes.

"Really" I confirm before plopping down onto the beach blanket, and pulling her down into my lap.

"Jade." She sighs, bracing her hands against my shoulders.

"What?" I ask while simultaneously ignoring her in favor of situating her so that she's straddling me and my arms are wrapped tightly around her. She's not going _anywhere _until her clothes are back on.

"You can't keep me here all day!" she protests, trying her best to push away from me.

"Yes I can." I grunt. It's not easy to keep hold of her, but I'm absolutely determined.

"Jade!" she gasps once she realizes she's stuck, 'cause I'm oh so serious about not letting her go.

"I don't share." I answer simply.

"Well, what about you?" she snaps, while folding her arms over her chest and pouting like a big baby. "Why can't you put on a towel? They're gonna stare at you more than me."

"Because _I_ still didn't get sunblock rubbed all over me yet."

Her faces changes from pout to grin in a matter of milliseconds. "Well_ I'll_ just have to fix that now won't I, 'cause I don't wanna share you either." She smiles before nipping at my bottom lip playfully.

"You wanna go get in the water?" I suddenly hear Beck ask. I guess he's finally tired of watching the two of us, which I could care less about as I forgot he was there.

"Do _you _wanna go get in the water?" Meredith answers his question with not _just _a question, but with _his _question.

That's annoying. And I know Beck can't really be into this chick. He obviously tried to get some kind of reaction from me to prove that me and Vega aren't really into each other. He wanted to rattle me.

Jerk.

"Close your eyes." Vega says.

I notice she's got a dab of sunscreen in her hands and I remember she's supposed to be rubbing me down. So, I do as I'm told…even though I don't like being told what to do. I close my eyes.

I feel gentle fingers run across my face; rubbing in at my cheeks, my forehead, my nose…everywhere.

I open my eyes once I feel the coast is clear; once I feel her move downward, towards my ears and neck.

She's staring right back at me.

But not for long. She quickly averts her eyes and reaches down to pick the sunscreen back up.

Now would be the time to say something rude and sarcastic. Maybe even tease her because I caught her staring at me; but I keep my mouth shut. I don't want to embarrass her. If I do, she might stop. And I _really _don't want her to stop.

It's almost…erotic, the way she's touching me. I don't think she means to be, it's just what's happening. Vega's just extremely good with her hands…just like she is with her lips.

Naturally, since I'm thinking about them, my eyes are drawn to 'em. Poor thing, Vega's gnawing that bottom one raw as she applies a good amount of sunscreen into her palm.

Without looking at me, she starts on my shoulders. Her eyes are kept on her hands as they rub slow circles into my skin. Then she starts to move downward, working on my arms. She's taking her time, touching every inch.

When she gets to my hands, she does them one by one. Gently rubbing the moisture in between my fingers and suddenly I get this …_ urge._ I want to kiss her so freakin' bad. And not just kiss her either. I want to touch her as well.

_Especially _now that she's doing my back. I wouldn't let her up, so she's resting her chin on my shoulder so she can see what she's doing back there. "I can't reach," she mutters." And I know she's referring to my lower back. That's where I felt her stop.

"Lemme help you." I whisper before lowering my hands to her ass and pulling her into me and holding her there.

She whimpers, actually whimpers, in my ear and the sound of it makes me wet. She clears her throat. "Yeah, it's um…much better." She answers; but it's too late. I heard it, the affect our position had on her. At least hers was a verbal reaction.

I fucking wet my bottoms.

"Got it." She says cheerfully before pulling back.

I panic a little. Subconsciously, I realize she's taking more time than necessary with the sunblock thing, but at the same time, I feel like she's going too fast. I want her to slow down, touch me longer. I don't want this to be over.

"Don't forget my legs." I tell her, buying myself more time.

"Patience, Mami. I'm still doing your top." Vega replies absently as she squeezes more block into her palm.

Then she presses a hand against my chest. "Down." She whispers simply. She means for me to lie on my back.

And I do it. Like I said, I usually don't like being told what to do, but I really don't mind it right now.

I rest my hands behind my head, just so that I won't have to struggle with what to do with them when she starts touching me again.

"Is the sun in your face?" She asks because my eyes are squeezed shut. That happened the _second _she put her hands on my bare stomach and I fucking wet again.

I nod my head.

It's better for her to think that's my problem.

Next thing I know my face is covered up by a straw hat. And the only reason I don't get pissed off is because I know it's Vega's. It's smells just like her hair.

And I _fucking _wet again! Just great. Vega's about to do my legs, per my request and I'm soaked.

Fuck!

I squeeze my legs shut, hoping she won't notice the very embarrassing thing that happened to me.

"Jade?"

"What?"

"You're wet."

Fuck.

"It's sweat." I answer.

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"It doesn't smell like sweat.." she mutters, but she's a bad mutterer. I heard every word

"What does it smell like?" I'm half curious, half embarrassed but I make sure to look and sound a hundred percent pissed.

She lowers her eyes. Refusing to look at me. "Nothing" she mumbles, face going red for the billionth time today.

And I get this weird thought in my head.

I want to fuck my girlfriend.

I never understood the thought behind that. How can a girl find another girl fuckable. It's not like I have a dick. What kind of pleasure could _I_ possibly get from sticking my fingers in her?

But the mere fact that I just wet my bottoms because of the _smell _of her hair, ensures me that I'll get _something _out of her writhing beneath me, lips parted, eyes squeezed shut due to the intense pleasure she's receiving-whoa.

Whoa daddy

What the fuck was that.

"Jade?"

"What?" I snap.

"I'm done. let's get in the water." She stands, then helps me to my feet.

Yes, the water. I think the water is just what the doctor ordered. I seriously need to cool my ass down.

She links pinkies with me and we walk to the shoreline, passing Beck, Meredith and the twins on our way.

I touch my toes in the water and change my mind immediately. It's too cold.

"I think I'm gonna go sit on a towel for a while." I say while backing up.

Vega steps in front of me. "And think about Beck some more?"

I frown. Beck? Some more? When did I…_Oh_. She thinks I was wetting myself over Beck. And maybe that's a good thing. Way less embarrassing anyway. So I let her keep thinking that.

"Maybe." I shrug.

"I don't think so."

She picks me up.

Literally. She bends her knees, places her arms under my pits and hoists me up like she would do a kid.

My eyes widen and I wrap my legs around her waist instinctively and grip her shoulders super tight.

"Don't drop me." Is the first thing that comes out of my mouth; not "what the fuck are you doing?" or "put me the fuck down!"

Weird

"I won't, Mami." She smiles at me as she begins to walk forward.

"You're strong." I observe as casually as I can, but I'm seriously confused. She doesn't look like much.

"Sometimes I have to carry Trina up the stairs when she's in her diva mood…which is a lot." she shrugs.

That makes sense; absolute sense. You know what_ doesn't_ make any sense. How turned on I just got when she lifted me.

And now, she's got her hands on my butt, absently patting it as she walks further and further into the water, but I'm not alarmed. Not yet. The water hasn't made it past her knees yet. I do expect to snap out of my weird little trance in a few seconds.

"Jade, you're "sweating" on me. You sure you don't wanna cool down in the water?" Vega grins.

I look down and fuck, there it is…all over her stomach. I wet her.

I heard the emphasis she put on sweating and I'm not gonna let her have the upper hand. So, I do what I always do. I say something shocking enough to make her shut up.

"It's not sweat, you're just making me wet." I answer.

She gasps; but not before she drops me…into the cold water….where a wave, sensing my current position, decides to overrun me.

"Oh my God, Jade. I'm so sorry!" Vega exclaims once she realizes what she's done.

I'm gonna kill her.

She sees the look on my face and runs from me. And I immediately give chase.

It's not long before she trips and falls, and I'm right there, on top of her.

Now, whaddo I do? I can't _really_ kill her. She's my girlfriend.

I drop my hands to her ribs and tickle her. It's lame; not a very good punishment at all, but I'm out of options.

"Stop!" She screams.

She wiggles from side to side and damn it the cold water did absolutely nothing by means of cooling me down. The friction of Vega's constant movements is absolute murder. The smart thing to do would be to stop and get off.

No, not _get off_, but get off of her.

But I don't want to.

I tickle her some more. She's still screaming for me to get off and let her go, but I… _can't_. I need some kind of relief and it's all her fault I'm all frustrated to begin with.

"I can't breathe! Jade, get off!" she continues to laugh, back arching as she tries to buck me off and oh. My. God…stimulation.

"No!" I shake my head vehemently and continue to tickle her. She panics a little, trying to gasp for a large lungful of air, only to have that interrupted by her fits of laughter.

"Please!" she begs pitifully.

God I love it when she begs.

Man, what the hell is wrong with me? I don't even like Vega like that.

_Seems like you do to me._

I can't! there's just no way. I just need to seriously, _seriously_ get laid. That's my problem. It's got nothing to do with Vega. It's just these stupid teenage hormones.

Suddenly I'm knocked to the side. "Leave her alone!"

Riley.

Now that is what you call a mood killer. She just knocks the horny right out of ya, that one. All's fine down there now. And I'm able to come to my senses.

I yank her by the arm and pull her down on top of Vega. "You want some too?" I yell, giving her the same treatment I just gave my girlfriend.

I tickle her until she can't breathe, and the best part is that Vega's too pooped to help her.

"Help us!" Vega says suddenly, eyeing someone over my shoulder.

I look up.

Amber.

Not a challenge at all. I smile wickedly.

"What about you?" I ask. "If you walk away now, I'll spare you."

Amber smiles and tries to help them, she really does, but she's a lot easier to overcome than Riley.

She goes down no more than five seconds later.

"All of you say you're sorry to me." I command while three ladies breathlessly beg me to stop torturing them.

"Sorry!" Amber says immediately.

"Never!" Riley says.

Vega just laughs.

The rest of our time is spent this way, laughing, running, chasing, even Beck and Meredith join in and I actually don't mind it.

By the time we decide to call it a day, I'm beat. It should be illegal to run after Vegas and eight year olds all day.

I'm too tired to help clean up, and no one tries to make me, so I lay down on the blanket while everyone else works to throw away paper plates and pack uneaten food away. Well everyone except Amber is helping, which is actually pretty weird because out of the two brats it's Riley that I'd expect not to help…oh, they've switched. They used to do it with Beck a lot and I let 'em. It didn't matter to me if he could tell them apart.

But I suddenly find myself wondering if Vega can. I have a feeling I'm about to find out when Amber walks up to Vega and announces that her hair is gross and asks if she can fix it for her.

I sit up and watch Vega gets a bottle of water. Then she turns Amber around and starts pouring it in her hair.

"Hay, it's cold!" Amber scowls and snatches her away from Vega.

I roll my eyes. _Hay_? Really? The brats have been spending too much time with my girlfriend.

Just then, Riley measles her way to my side and sits next to me, much like Amber does whenever someone's arguing.

"Well, I'm sorry Amber but I gotta get the saltwater out. That's what's making it yucky." Vega says while reaching for her.

Amber ducks out of her reach. "Can't you get some warmer water or something?"

"This is all the water I have. Now, hold still."

"Don't be so bossy!"

"Why are you so grumpy right now, hm?" Vega puts her hands on her hips as she reprimands the brat. "You were completely fine a minute ago!"

"I'm not grumpy. That's too cold, stupid!"

"Amber!"

"Tori!"

"That's not nice! What's the matter with you?"

"I just_ told_ you!"

I swear Vega mumbles a few swear words under her breath as she checks the water.

"It's not even cold!" she exclaims.

"Well it is to me!"

I see Beck make his way over to the pair of shouters and I just know this is gonna get even better. Damn, where's the popcorn when you need it.

Riley hands me a bag of chips and I'm reminded that sometimes, _sometimes, _she's not a _complete _pain in the ass.

"Riley, it's just water. It'll be over before you know it," Beck winks. He thinks he's coming to the rescue, but he's just making a fool of himself. Especially because I see it click for Vega. She realizes what's going on now.

"Seriously Amber, this again?" She sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. When she's done with that, she manually turns Amber around so that she can finish rinsing out her hair. "I thought there was something seriously wrong with you. I was worried! Find a way to warn me next time."

Amber rolls her eyes and Vega makes it a point not to care. Now that she knows what's going on she's stopped freaking out.

But Beck doesn't leave it alone. He steps in front of amber and places a hand on her shoulder. "You know, just because your sister's new girlfriend called you Amber doesn't mean that's who you have to be. You can tell her you're Riley." Beck smiles encouragingly at Amber.

Dear God this is embarrassing…for him, because he's just so damn wrong.

Still, I pop more chips into my mouth and continue to watch the show. I'm even feeling generous enough to share with Riley.

Amber just stares at Beck, a confused frown on her face. There's no doubt in my mind that she knew Beck would think she's Riley, but now she's realizing she has to choose. If she admits to being Amber, she'll hurt Becks feelings. If she says she's Riley, she'll hurt Vega's feelings; and she doesn't know what to do. She likes them both. Now it's a question of who she likes _more_.

This is gonna be good.

She looks to me, but I just shrug and eat more chips. If she can't speak up for herself…

She turns up her face, leaning her head all the way back so that it's resting on Vega's stomach. Vega looks down at her and gently brushes her hair from her face.

"You can tell him you're Riley if you want to, Mamita. You won't hurt my feelings."

Amber nods her head and looks back at Beck.

"I'm Amber." She says firmly.

Holy chiz on a saltine!

Beck turns to me for confirmation, and I give it to him..

"What? She_ is_ Amber" I shrug.

I won't ever tell anyone, but I can honestly say that I'm a bit proud of her. I've never seen her stand her ground that way. And just seeing the embarrassed look on Beck's face… Ha! That was just great. I was _not _expecting that!

Beck marches over to where I'm sitting and tells me we need to talk.

I drop my head back and groan. I don't feel like fucking talking.

But I get up anyway and walk a little ways away with him.

"You shouldn't have done this." He hisses as soon as we're out of hearing distance.

"Done what?"

"This thing you're doing with Tori. Look at how attached they are to her."

I glance behind me at the girls. They're laughing and playing while helping Vega clean up. Well, Amber's helping Vega clean up; Riley's making messes and getting chased by Vega.

"You're confusing them." He continues. "One day, when you decide to stop playing girlfriends with Tori, those girls are gonna miss her. You're not only affecting yourself, you know."

His words are stemming from anything other than concern for the brats, but they're true nonetheless. Instantly I'm reminded of Wazzbag Jr., the little four year old kid that ran up to Vega and wrapped his little arms around her leg.

He was so happy to see her, and so sad when it was time to go. She promised she'd see him again. In fact, she promised to go to his soccer game_ today_. Yet here she is, at the beach with me and the twins.

But do I _really_ care if the little pre-terds get attached to her and then get all sad when we inevitably "break up?"

No. I don't.

"That being said, I've got a word of advice for you, Jade." He adds.

I raise an eyebrow. "Give it to me."

"You're trying too hard"

"That's more than one word."

He gives me this look, like he wants me to be serious because he's serious and I indulge him.

"Care to elaborate?" I ask. The faster he says what's on his mind, the sooner I can leave.

"Yeah. When a girl sees their ex with another person, she gets jealous. You were trying too hard not to be jealous of Meredith."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah." He says with a little too much confidence.

So I hit him back with, "So that means you're jealous when you see me with Vega?"

"No." he scoffs.

"So guys don't get jealous when they see their ex with another person?" I scoff back.

"They do, but Tori's not your real girlfriend."

"So Meredith's your real girlfriend?"

He falters. He's got nothing to say to that. I got him.

So I move in for the kill. "Maybe I'm not jealous because I can _clearly_ see that you're just using Meredith to try and _make _me jealous. Go get a real girlfriend. Maybe I'll be jealous then."

I walk away from him and toward my Vega.

"You okay, Mami?" she asks the second I reach her.

I get a little irritated with her. She's supposed to be jealous, asking me what we were talking about, not asking me how I feel!

"You just saw me talking with my ex, why aren't you jealous?" I hiss at her.

"I"-

"Aren't you serious about us?"

"Of course I am."

"But?"

"There's no but, Jade." Vega slowly reaches out and cups my cheek. "I'm trying to be understanding. It's really hard and sometimes I may not like it, but I'll always give you a chance to explain. And I'll always try to understand." She whispers the last part, just before placing her lips on mine. She's kissing me; not biting, not offering me coffee flavored gloss; she's really kissing me and I feel it again. The damn hormones.

I wet my bottoms.

"Come on guys! You can do that when we get home."

Riley. I can't stand that little cockblocker!

No, on second thought. I should probably thank her. I was two seconds away from trying to jump my girlfriend's bones on a public beach.

"Fine you wanna go so bad…" Vega says before lifting Riley up, putting her over her shoulder and jogging away.

"Slow down, you'll drop me!" Riley squeals and asks Amber for help. Of course Amber does no such thing. She runs to catch up with them but only to hold Vega's free hand.

Watching the sight before me, I realize Beck's right about one thing. The girls are_ not_ gonna be happy when me and Vega break up.

Hell, _I'm_ not even gonna be happy when me and Vega break up.

Shit, this is getting messy.

_Says who you have to break up?_

Shut. _Up_. Tori!


	13. Chapter 13

{~~~~TORI~~~~}

"Boo!"

I squeak, drop my books, and whirl around to face my attacker...though I wasn't technically "attacked."

I should've known it'd be Melissa.

"You scared the chiz out of me!" I yell at her.

"Really? So, how was the beach?" she asks as if she couldn't be bothered by the fact that she nearly made me wazz my pants. Nor does she bother to help me pick up all the stuff I dropped on the floor in front of my locker.

Pendeja.

"It was nice," I answer somewhat irritably. Believe it or not, it's not Melissa I'm irritated with even though it's her that I just referred to as a jerk. It's Jade.

The beach _was_ nice, but I think Jade's mad at me. I have no idea why. I thought we had a good time Saturday. To be honest, It was better than good. It was one of the best days I've had all year. We did a marathon's worth of running around with the girls; all while laughing, playing, and splashing around.

And judging by the amount of playing and laughing Jade did with us, I'd say she had a pretty good day too.

But then she started acting weird afterward. Fidgety and short tempered. I figured she was just drained and wanted to hit the sack. I know I can be a bit cranky when I'm exhausted too.

I changed my mind about that theory Sunday. I could barely get her to talk to me on the phone. And whenever I texted her, I'd get short replies, like one or two words. Three at the most. Even worse than that, when I picked her up this morning she seemed to have even less to say than _that_!

Heck, she didn't even _glare_ at me for anything. And as crazy as it sounds, I miss that. Not the glaring per se, but s_ome_ sort of indication that she's her normal self.

But no, she's just been kinda….blah…about _everything_. When I asked her a question, she would either shake or nod her head. And for the questions that required more than a yes or no answer, she just shrugged until I quit trying to talk to her altogether.

"Earth to Icky."

I turn around quickly, just realizing that I'd been staring at Jade. She's at her locker as well. Thankfully it doesn't seem as if she's noticed me staring. Or maybe she has and she doesn't give a ding-dang. As I said, she's been a bit indifferent toward me since the beach.

"So, how was soccer?" I ask Melissa. Maybe if I get her to talk about her weekend she won't comment on my zoning-outness. Though it's not really that good of a subject change if you ask me. I told Chris I was gonna go to his game and then I didn't show up. I feel guilty about it.

"It wasn't really soccer," she laughs. "But he tried, and he was _so _cute!"

"I bet he was," I smile absently.

"He asked about you." She tells me.

"Really? What'd you guys say?" I ask, though I kinda don't want to know what lie they told him at the same time. Whether I was too sick or I forgot to come, it doesn't really matter. I still wasn't there. That's all he'll know.

"I told him you wanted to be there."

"But?"

Melissa laughs again. "That's as far as we got. He's got the attention span of a cross-eyed Chihuahua."

I can't help but to feel relieved, and I laugh along with her.

I'd forgotten about that, about how fast that kid can bounce back. Maybe he didn't miss me at all. It makes me feel much less guilty then I'd been feeling just moments before.

**SLAM!**

For the second time in my _very_ short morning the chiz is scared out of me when my locker is slammed shut behind me.

I jump again, tripping over absolutely nothing and landing right in Melissa's arms. Surprisingly she drops her books to catch me with a load grunt. I would've never expected that in a million years. It wouldn't have surprised me at all if she had let me fall in favor of her books. She can be a gank when she wants to be.

As soon as Melissa uprights me, I spin around and come face to face with Jade.

Go figure.

"You scared me!" I yell at her.

"So?" she glares back at me.

Oh, so now she wants to start glaring at me and stuff, acting like her old self again. She couldn't do any of that this morning? Seriously, what the chiz is her problem?

Melissa is behind me laughing her head off. So I turn around to deal with her first. She's much easier than Jade.

"You knew she was behind me, didn't you?" I point an accusing finger at her.

"Why yes. Yes I did." She smirks.

"You could've warned me, Lissa!"

"Ugh, and where would the fun in that have been?" She rolls her eyes as if I'm stupid for even asking a question with such an obvious answer.

"Nowhere, but now I've got a little bit of wazz in my panties, so thank you for that." I answer sarcastically, placing both hands on my hips.

Melissa tilts her head a little bit, and her eyes lower down to the front of my jeans. Then she grabs me by the waist and turns me a little so she can check my back.

Seriously?

"You still look plenty dry down there. I think you'll live." She winks before walking off.

"Hey! I'm not done yelling at you!"

She turns around, but only long enough to blow a kiss and finger wave at me.

The nerve. I make to go after her when suddenly my arm is clamped on to, and I mean, it's in a vice grip. And it kinda hurts too.

There's no doubt in my mind that my clamper is Jade.

"Walk me to class," she commands while dragging me away.

I would love to walk her to class. Really, I would. It'd be the perfect opportunity to talk to her and try to find out why she's in such a ganky funk; but I don't have the time. Number one, I gotta go number one thanks to her; and number two, my homeroom class is like the complete opposite direction of hers. There's no way I'll make it to class on time, and I don't have a perfect attendance for nothing.

The bell rings. The five minute warning bell.

Yeah, I definitely don't have the time to walk her to class.

I snatch my arm out of her grip. "My class is the other way and I gotta wazz." I quickly explain to Jade before leaning in to nip at her bottom lip, but then I change my mind and pull back. She still seems moody. She might not like that right now. "Uh, see ya fourth period."

I jog away without waiting for a response, easily catching up with Melissa. She's walking backwards, no doubt waiting for me as we share the same class, but I don't really plan on stopping. Like I said, I_ really_ gotta wazz.

I nearly pass her when she says, "I think your girlfriend's jealous."

That stops me.

"Of you?" I scoff. God this girl is so full of herself, not that there's no cause for it. She _is_ extremelygorgeous.

"Yep, watch this," she smirks as she hooks arms with me.

"Huh?" I frown, doing the pee-pee dance in place.

She nods her head slightly, towards the direction from which I just came and somehow I instinctively know she wants me to look behind myself. So I do it and… oh crap! She's right. Jade looks extremely pissed off. She's standing there, in the same place I left her. Her hands are crossed over her chest, she's got one hip jutted to the side and she's just _staring_…Oh God, I'm in so much trouble.

But I'm just so dang considerate that I'm able to think of others when I'm in for a serious janking. I dig in my purse for a scrunchie and offer it to Melissa.

"What's this for?" She frowns.

"Your hair. It's_ really_ pretty. My girlfriend knows I _really_ like it. And she _really_ loves scissors; and right now, I think she _really _doesn't like you." I explain.

Melissa laughs, but she takes the hair tie from me and begins to put her hair up. By the time she's done, it's a very tight knot on the top of her head. Just in case.

"I'm still pretty gorgeous even without all the hair, aren't I, Icky?" she smirks. I don't agree with her, even though I was thinking the same thing. I don't need her head to swell up even more.

So, with a roll of my eyes I tell her she looks "prepared" before doubling back for my girlfriend.

"_Why_ were you staring at us like that?" I demand. It's not menacing at all. It's more of a whine really because I'm doing the pee-pee dance as I stand before her.

"What the fuck was that?" She asks, pointing at Melissa, who thankfully has enough sense to head for class and not wait for me.

Now Jade on the other hand, she sounds plenty menacing.

"What was what? Me telling Melissa to tie her hair up because you look like you're about to chop it all off, which you're not going to do because it's not nice, Jade!" I hiss/whine.

"I'm not a very nice person, Vega!"

"You can be if you want to be! You were just fine at the beach, now all of a sudden you're in a sour mood." I can't help but to bring it up. It's really bugging me. How she was just fine one day and then all of a sudden she's being a super grunch. And she's not even on her lady time!

"God, do you and Joy rehearse that shit?" she rolls her eyes.

Huh? Rehearse what? It's safe to say that I'm officially lost.

"When am I not in a sour mood?" she continues.

"You didn't seem to be in much of a sour mood when you were _sweating_ on me, Saturday!" I blurt. Immediately I want to take it back, because I recognize that look on her face. It's the same one she had on when she dragged me into the janitor's closet and stretched my legs in the most painful way ever. The one that lets me know I'm in deep, _deep_, chiz.

She takes a step toward me.

I take a giant step back.

"_What_ did you just say, Vega?" She doesn't open her mouth to ask, that's how hard she's clenching her teeth, but I understand her just fine.

I gulp loudly. Sweet chiz, I'm gonna die.

"Jade doesn't sweat, Tori."

I jump, again, for the third time this morning. Jeez, Louise, and Steve. Beck came out of nowhere, and I mean, no friggin' where, and just scared the living chizlets out of me.

But once I calm down a little, get the ol' heart rate back to a regular pace, I roll my eyes playfully and say, "Everybody sweats." I mean, it's more than obvious he's joking because, well, everybody _does _sweat….unless they've got that condition where there's something wrong with their sweat glands.

"Not Jade. She says it's gross, so she doesn't do it." Beck continues. "You know, it's really hard to believe you two are a couple when you mess up on the little things, Tori."

I blink at him; then I look to Jade. I feel like I'm being pranked or something because Jade does sweat. Okay, so she didn't sweat on me at the beach. I just said that to be appropriate in the school hallways, but I've seen Jade sweat before. Here at school in fact; in the janitor's closet.

Jade's response is to roll her eyes, turn on her heels, and head for class.

Weird.

I would've thought she'd defend me. I know she's mad at me right now, but aren't we supposed to be making Beck jealous? We can't do that if he doesn't think we're a real couple; and he's never gonna think we're a real couple if he thinks I'm messing up the way he thinks I am right now.

I turn back toward Beck, ready to tell him again that Jade does indeed sweat, but before I can get a word out the bell rings. He gives me a smug smile before heading for class.

Whatever. I shrug before going to class as well, totally forgetting that I gotta wazz pretty dang bad.

I only have to squirm in homeroom for about half an hour before it goes away. Melissa being the good friend that she is, told the teacher I was a little late because I was on the toilet, ergo, I couldn't exactly ask for a bathroom pass.

I don't see Jade again until fourth period. Not at our lockers, not in the hallways, not in the bathroom, nowhere. It seems to me that she's avoiding me.

Whatever.

If she wants to have attitudes and pout for no reason, then she can just have an attitude and pout for no dang reason!

"Owwie, Tori!"

Crap! I just jerked the door open and it slammed right into Cat's face. She ends up falling flat on her butt with both hands covering her forehead. Oh man! I didn't even know she was behind me!

Why am I always hurting this girl?

"I'm so sorry, Cat!" I exclaim, hoping she can tell how sorry I am by my voice alone and that I won't have to bribe her into forgiving me. I'm too broke to take her to Freezy Queen again.

I help her onto her feet and she wobbles a little.

Crap! That's not good, right? Wobbling?

"Cat, how many fingers am I holding up?" I ask after holding up two.

"Two." she says and I exhale a huge breath of relief. "But those other three are just _flying_." She frowns and waves her hand in front of her face.

Jammit!

"I'll take you to the nurse." I sigh, grabbing on to her wrist and beginning to pull.

She digs her heels into the ground. "But I feel fine Tori, just a little bit dizzy."

"When do you _not_ feel dizzy?" Jade brushes by, walking into the classroom without so much as a glance our way.

"Hey, quit being a gank!" I snap back at her.

Everyone inside goes quiet. _No one _talks to Jade that way. I have my moments, but I usually pick them better than this. And this is not the time for calling Jade a gank to her face…in front of a whole classroom.

Jade turns around slowly, lifting her eyebrows in a way that lets me know I'll definitely be paying for that. Like right now.

"You _really_ gotta work on that temper of yours, Icky." Melissa sneaks up beside me, successfully distracting me from my fire breathing dragon of a girlfriend.

"I do not have a temper!" I snap back at her.

"Course you don't." She grabs me by my hand and starts pulling on me. You're just a big ol' ray of sunshine. Aren't ya?" She continues. We leave Cat behind, rush right by a scowling Jade and end up in the front of the class. Then she sits me down, using one hand to press down on my shoulder. "We'll just sit you next to André. You haven't snapped at him yet… I mean today." She smirks.

I slap her hand away.

She puts both of her hands up, surrendering, but mockingly so.

Okay, so maybe I have a _little _temper. But it's not like I have my little spells and tantrums for no good reason. I mean, right now I…I uh, crap, why _am_ I irritated?

"Alright class!" I hear Sikowitz's voice boom from behind me. And I jump. I'm facing front; expecting him to either come in through the window or the door by the board like he always does. But he didn't. Hoy no. Nope, he came in from the door at the _back_ of the class.

When am I gonna learn this man is just unpredictable? Cuando?

"Now," he claps excitedly once he's up front. "Let's talk about the new play I'm directing."

Everyone sits up in their seats expectantly.

"Do I get to star in it?" Jade is the first to speak.

"Uh, I think it's my turn to star in one of Sikowitz's plays." André turns in his seat to address her.

"No it's my turn," Robbie claims. Followed by other classmates.

I keep my mouth shut and let the class argue over the lead role because I have no desire to claim it for myself. I've never done a play at this school before and I think it'd be better if I take a minor role the first time around. Just to see how it works here. Then I'll go for it next time. Hey, you can't lead unless you know how to follow. That's what my Papi says anyway.

"See?" Sikowitz says, holding his hands up to get everyone's attention. When everyone quiets down, he continues. "Every time I cast a new play, you get your panties in a pretzel. So this time, you people will choose your own roles."

Silowitz goes off to the side and picks up a little box, shaking it as he approaches us.

"Um. Sikowitz?"

"Yes, Melissa Imnuhere."

"It's Belle. What happens if a girl picks a male character, or vice versa. Do we pick again?" She asks.

"Of course not." He scoffs. "The girl will play a male character and vice versa." Then he holds out a box to André, effectively ending the conversation. "Pick a role." He commands.

André does as he's told, then reads the slip of paper out loud. "Tommy, 10 year old identical twin brother of Carter."

Next he goes to Melissa. I hope she picks out a guy for her character.

And as soon as I see her frown, I know she did. "Carter, 10 year old identical twin brother of Tommy." She monotones.

"Ha ha," I tease.

She glares at me. "Are you sure we can't pick another character?" she pleads with Sikowitz.

"My box has spoken." He says dramatically, clutching to his chest as if it's a million dollars and someone is trying to swipe it.

"I guess we're twins." She frown at André.

"Yeah, Momma's got some explaining to do." André nods, earning a laugh from everyone in the class. Except for Jade. She's still in her ganky mood.

And that's who Sikowitz goes to next.

"Jade, pick a role."

"Gracie. Four year old little sister of Carter and Tommy." She reads before balling the paper up and throwing it on the floor.

"Hey, sissy." André coos, earning yet another laugh from the class until Jade pulls out a pair of scissors. I think Sikowitz is a little _too _used to Jade because he holds his hand out for them immediately. It was like he already knew she was gonna whip 'em out.

And just like I had done a few weeks back, Jade hands her scissor over, pointy end facing Sikowitz.

"Thank you, Gracie," Sikowitz taunts. I think he and Lane are the only adults here that aren't afraid of her.

"Beck, pick a role."

"Alright," he claps before reaching in. "Nancy, Loving wife of Walter Swain. Interesting." He shrugs. "Wonder who my husband will be."

I expect him to be just a little more freaked out than that, but I guess he's probably used to this kind of stuff. He _did _have to be Cat for a whole day once; and if I'm not mistaken he wore a dress, a _pink _dress.

"Toro!"

I scowl back at him. It's Tori. _Tori._

"Pick a role." He commands.

I take a deep breath and pray for a minor role, but God ignores me.

"Astronaut Walter Swaine, husband of Nancy," I gulp just in time for Jade to stand to her feet and shout, "Over my dead body!"

"Oh, this is gonna be so awesome," Melissa says, high fiving André.

"Oh yeah," he agrees.

And he calls himself my friend.

Suddenly I hear footsteps, well more like foot _stomps_, coming my way.

There's no way they _don't_ belong to Jade.

Here we go.

I sigh heavily and lift up my arm before she can even ask for it. She takes it and all but snatches me out of my chair before dragging me outside the classroom.

We don't go far, just a little ways to the right of the door. If anyone opens it, they'll see us.

"No!" she tells me as she pushes me up against the wall a bit roughly.

I hit my head.

"Hay, Jade! No, what?" I answer with a rub to the back of my head. I'm much quieter than her because I'm so sure our classmates can hear us if we're loud enough. "What did I do?"

"You're not going to play Beck's wife."

I roll my eyes. "_Husband."_

"Spouse." She hisses.

"I don't have a choice. Sikowitz's box has spoken." I repeat the stupid reason Sikowitz wouldn't let Melissa pick again. "And besides. It's just a play, just pretend. So what's your problem?"

"You!" she grabs my chin in one hand and jerks my head forward a little. "_You _are my problem."

Suddenly I realize this confrontation of ours _might_ have very little to do with the play. Maybe I'm about to find out why she's been so moody lately. I can't help but to get a little excited. iif I know what's wrong, maybe I can fix it. Then everything will be okay between us again.

And I want that. Bad. It's only been a day and a half since her bad mood, but I kinda miss her.

Okay, so I definitely miss her.

I reach out and grab hold of her waist. Then I look her straight in the eyes, showing her that she has my undivided attention.

"What did I do, Mami?"

"Don't make that face." She scowls at me.

"What face?" I frown. The corners of my mouth twitch just once, but save from that I'm able to keep my smile at bay.

I know exactly what face she's talking about.

"That! That lost puppy with pneumonia face." She drops her hand from my chin. It lands on my shoulder and she keeps it there. Probably because there's nowhere else to put it. Not without it being awkward because of the way my hands are positioned on her.

I pull her closer to me, my eyes never leaving hers.

"What'd I do?" I ask again. This time more serious.

She narrows her eyes and I feel her grip tighten on my shoulder.

Something has to be really bothering her if she can't just come out and say it.

"Hey," I give her waist a gentle squeeze. "Talk to me." I coax.

Still she doesn't say anything. I watch her struggle to put her thoughts into words for a bit longer before she gets frustrated with herself and blows up at me.

"I don't know, but you need to stop it!" She yells.

"If you don't know, then how should I know what I'm supposed to be stopping?" I answer calmly. Rationally.

"I don't know!"

"You don't know?"

"Yeah, I don't know. Just figure it out, okay Vega! Damn."

I tilt my head to the side a little and study her. It doesn't take me any time at all to realize that she really _doesn't_ know what's bothering her.

That happens to me sometimes. Something can bug me, something I thought wasn't a big deal, but subconsciously I let it fluster inside of me and next thing I know, I'm blowing up at everyone around me.

Who knew me and Jade actually had something in common?

"Well, whatever I do to upset you, I'm really sorry Jade. I don't mean it."

She frowns back at me. Her grip on my shoulder loosening considerably.

"I know you don't. You just can't help it." She sighs.

Now it's my turn to frown. "I just can't help what?"

She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. I wish she hadn't. I love her eyes.

"I just wish you were a little less friendly sometimes." She breathes after a few tense seconds.

"What does that even mean?"

She scowls at me, eyes still closed.

I don't know how many people have ever told Jade that she's adorable when she does that and lived afterward, but I don't want to find out if I'll be one of the lucky ones. So I keep my mouth shut and wait for her answer.

"It _means_ I wish you were a little less friendly."

Well _that_ was helpful.

"Less friendly, like you?" I guess.

She opens her eyes. "Exactly."

I roll my eyes. "Seriously? Wouldn't it be weird to have a girlfriend that acts just like you?"

"Ah, so you remember?"

"Remember what?"

"That you're _my_ girlfriend."

What the chiz is she talking about?

"I never forget." I frown.

"Don't you though?"

"No."

"It seems to me," she starts off just as she averts her eyes, staring unseeingly at the wall beside my head. "That you sometimes do forget."

I still don't know how she came to that conclusion, but I do know to take her serious.

"You're my first girlfriend, Jade." I move my head a little, getting into her line of vision. She blinks twice; then focuses on my face. No scowl or glare. She's just looking back at me. And Dios mío…she's absolutely the most beautiful girl in the world. Sometimes I forget because she's so ganky, but there's no denying it. Jade West is a breathtaking sight.

"And?" she presses when I stop there.

I blink a few times, trying to remember what the heck I was trying to say before to begin with. But I can't. Nothing comes.

Like I said. Jade's a stunner.

"I forgot what I was about to say. You know, you should try to be less beautiful. Maybe I'll be able to keep a train of thought." I reprimand.

She rolls her eyes, but I can see she rather enjoyed the flattery. And I'm so sure she has a rebuttal for that but I don't wait for it. I dip my head in and press my lips to hers. I'm pretty sure she likes it better when I bite her, but right now I _really_ want to kiss her. So I do.

It's a small kiss. Meant to last no more than a second; but when it's over I instantly want more.

I pull back, just a little, and I look at Jade. She doesn't look like she was quite ready for it to end either. She's just now beginning to open her eyes back. So I kiss her again.

And again I want another; just one more I promise myself.

Jade lifts her hands up, cupping my face gently and it's all the encouragement I need. I kiss her again…and again…and again, each kiss getting longer than the last until I drop the notion of _this_ kiss being the last. I accept that I'm in a full make out session with my girlfriend in the school hallway.

The door's opened and Sikowitz pokes his head out. "Jade, kiss your girlfriend on your own time."

Oh God! I push Jade off of me and scramble back into the classroom.

"Me? Vega kissed _me_!" I hear her shout behind me.

"Oh, of course she did."

I keep my eyes forward, focusing on the front of the room and wait for Sikowitz to do something to distract the class even though there's nothing going on up there. Everything's happening in the back, from Jade undoubtedly glaring daggers into my back for not defending her to the rest of the class laughing at my expense.

Sikowitz runs up to the front of the class and claps for everyone's attention. It's not given immediately, but soon enough.

I sink lower in my chair as Sikowitz begins to describe the play. To my dismay, I definitely got the lead role.

As soon as we're dismissed for lunch, Sikowitz pulls me and Melissa aside and tells us that we can't actually do the play until we pass the bird scene.

I seriously contemplate failing it until opening night.

{~~~O~~~}

I passed the bird scene on the first try, and I wasn't even really trying. Well, I tried, but when I was done, I got my applauds and I sat down. I didn't even ask Sikowitz if I did it right. I didn't really care.

Turns out, asking if you did good is _how _you fail.

I swear, I'm never gonna get used to this school. But I have to admit, I'm actually kind of glad I got the lead role. This isn't so bad.

Sure, we've been rehearsing for about an hour and a half after school ended, but I'm having fun being Walter Swaine. Narcolepsy is kinda fun. To fake, that is.

I hear Beck fake crying in his "lady voice" from backstage, and I know it's almost time to go on. I just have a few more minutes until I hear my cue. A car door shutting effect.

I hear Beck telling the "children" that no matter how narcoleptic I am, they're not to notice.

Then I hear it, my cue.

I step out on the stage, open my arms wide and say my first line of this scene. "Nancy, kids, I'm home."

Jade comes running up to me and I get a little confused because I don't remember it being in the script, or maybe it is and I'm missing something. Oh crap! What if I am missing something?

She jumps up on me, knocking me to a sitting position on the couch. Thank God we have soft props. "Daddy, you're home!" She squeals before kissing my lips.

"Jade!" I cry.

"I'm Gracie." She rolls her eyes at me. I can just hear her thinking 'amateur' at me.

"That's not in the script," I hiss at her.

"I'm improvising. Aren't little girls supposed to be excited when their fathers come home?"

"Sikowitz!" I turn my attention to the coconut sucking nut of a man. He could at least try to help me out here.

Sikowitz frowns back at me, deep in thought. "I like it!" he announces suddenly.

"What!?"

Jade gives me a triumphant smirk.

"But less…_passion_. Remember Jade, this is your father, not your girlfriend."

"Got it."

"Alright, let's take it from Walter's first line!"

I go back to the wings and come in, saying the line that announces my presence to my family.

Jade runs up to me again, but I'm ready for her so I embrace her so that she doesn't knock me off balance for real, but I fake it. Landing on the couch the way I did before.

"Whoa, hey there pumpkin," I smile widely before giving her a sound kiss on the cheek.

She grins back at me.

Then I turn my attention to Melissa and André. "Hello Car-…"

I fall to the side in a narcoleptic sleep. Unfortunately for Jade, she didn't brace herself and she falls off the couch.

"Damn it, Vega!" She yells.

"I'm Daddy to you, pumpkin." I grin back. Hey, it's not every day one gets Jade to break character. I think I'm gonna remember this moment for the rest of my life; which I've only got about ten seconds left of judging by the way Jade's glaring at me.

"Well what kind of a father drops his little girl on the floor?"

"A _narcoleptic_ one." I fire back.

"Vega…." She growls. She's not playing around.

I roll my eyes. "So it's realistic of me to place you down on the ground _gently_ before falling into a narcoleptic sleep?"

"Tori's right." Sikowitz pipes up. "The fall's good. Adds drama. Beck, you as the mother of four year old Gracie will need to console your daughter after she has her fall. _Then _you will go into your next line."

"Got it." Beck nods.

Jade glares at me and I can only smile back at her and her pouting. She's kinda cute.

"I'll try not to drop you so hard next time, Mami." I promise before leaning in, just a little. I could go all the way in and kiss her, but I want to see if she'll meet me, even when she's mad at me.

She rolls her eyes at me and I lean in just a little bit more. I see a small twitch at the corner of her mouth and I know she's caving, so I decide to give her a little push.

"Come on, give Daddy some sugar." I coax.

"Shut up," she groans, trying to, but unsuccessfully, hiding her smile. Then she gives me what I asked for. She gently places her index under my chin and kisses me.

"Tori, Jade! Less passion!" Sikowitz shouts.

Me and Jade jump apart. How the heck did I forget that I'm on stage, in front of an audience?

We have to rehearse the new improvised scene a few times before I finally figure out a way to drop Jade while making it look like an accident and simultaneously make sure she doesn't get too hurt.

Once that's all ironed out, I get to start on the next couple of lines. Which is:

"I'm up, I'm up!"

Then I jump up off the couch and look at Melissa. "So, Tommy, How was school today?"

"I'm Carter." Melissa pouts.

"_I'm _Tommy." André pipes up.

"Oh man!" I slap my hand against my forehead. "What kind of father am I? I'm so darn narcoleptic I can't even tell my own twins sons apart! Wait, Sikowitz," I interrupt Beck as he starts to deliver his next line, because this is truly bothering me. "What the helicopter does narcolepsy have to do with not being able to tell my twins apart? I mean, so what if I fall asleep out of the blue, that shouldn't affect my sight. Should it? Maybe it could just be a guy thing, to not be able to tell twins…" I cut myself off when I catch the look Beck's giving me and I realize what I just said. That it's probably a guy thing to not be able to tell twins apart.

Beck's a guy…and he can't tell the twins apart, and I might've embarrassed him at the beach when I could tell Amber from Riley, even though he's known them longer. He probably thinks I was just now trying to take a stab at him.

Jammit! Me and my big mouth!

"You know what," I scratch the back of my head and address the whole cast. "I can see it now; how a narcoleptic astronaut might not be able to tell his sons apart. It uh…it makes perfect since."

_Just shut up Tori. Just stop talking._

"Maybe we should start again, from the "I'm up, I'm up." I declare.

Slurp.

That's all I get from Sikowitz.

Well, it's not a no. So I lie back down on the couch and wait for Beck to try to wake me up.

Thank God, he doesn't leave me hanging.

I deliver the rest of my lines as smoothly as I can. But I have a little trouble with the last ones.

Beck's a great actor, but I think he's a little irritated with me right now and it shows. He delivers his lines in clipped tones and it's just awkward. When we have to tell each other we love each other, it's so unbelievable that I expect Sikowitz to throw his coconut at our heads. But he waits for us to finish. And when we hug, it's the worst acting yet. There's enough space between us to fit a beach ball.

"Ow!" I cry when I feel a sharp pain in my knee. Then I see a coconut rolling around on the ground and my eyes widen. There's also this sound in the background, like someone's moving furniture, but I ignore it because I'm in complete shock right now.

"Sikowitz! You threw that coconut at me!"

"Yes. Yes I did." He confesses without a shred of shame.

"It _hurt_!"

"That's how I feel inside! Hurt! You two are singularly ruining my play!"

Just then, I feel two hands pulling me down by the waist. My eyes widen and I throw my arms out to the side so that I can brace myself for the fall, but I land on soft thighs. Jade's thighs. "Don't be such a baby." She murmurs before rubbing my right knee.

I turn a little so I can have a clear view of her and Sikowitz at the same time.

"It's this one." I point to my left knee.

She rolls her eyes, but switches knees. "Big baby."

"Well it hurt." I pout, totally milking this. I'm not gonna lie. I like being babied by Jade. It's different. Good different.

"This is our fifth rehearsal," Sikowitz continues to rant. "And you two aren't getting any better at playing a believable husband and wife."

"It can't be that bad." I mutter.

"Oh Babe, trust me, it's bad." Jade whispers back.

"Shut up." I whine.

Jade drops a kiss on the back of my shoulder.

Gosh I hope she gets to be my girlfriend for a long time. She's so good at it.

"Beck, Tori, Nozu's. 7pm. Be there." Sikowitz announces.

"Why?" Jade asks suspiciously.

"Because they need to learn to play a believable husband and wife."

"But what does that have to do with sushi?" I chime in.

"It's simple. To prepare for your rolls you two must date."

"What!" Jade and I exclaim together, but I end up on the floor because Jade jumps up out of her seat and I was sitting in her lap and well you can imagine the rest.

"Listen, I once had to do a show where I played a man in great pain." Sikowitz begins

"We know," I grunt, standing up. "You threw yourself down a flight of stairs."

"And yes, we would believe how many times you hit your semi bald head." Jade adds.

"Well then, you understand the method behind the madness."

"But what if I have plans." I try.

Sikowitz _actually _rolls his eyes at me. Well, he more or less rolled his whole head as well. "If you don't go, you'll receive an F for the semester." is his solution.

I gasp and clutch at my heart. I've never gotten an F in my life!

"Beck, do you have plans?"

"Nope."

"Excellent. You will both stay until the restaurant closes. laughing and giggling and talking about silly nothings."

"But Nozu's closes at twelve." Jade grinds out through clenched teeth.

"Yes they do. That's five hours of getting to know each other. I suggest you be quick studies unless you want to go on another date tomorrow night." Then as if dismissing any further arguments form me and Jade, he quickly follows that up with, "Sinjin, Melissa, I'm gonna need you two to be my spies, make sure Tori and Beck stay until twelve."

Sinjin agrees immediately.

Melissa on the other hand doesn't seem to want to do it. She shakes her head a little. "Sikowitz, I don't know if I could do that"-

"I'll give you a free pass on you and Tori's next scavenger hunt."

"Deal!"

"Melissa!" I gasp. "You're supposed to be my friend."

"What? You can't tell me you wouldn't do it if the situation was reversed."

I keep my mouth shut, because I can't. I would take that deal in a heartbeat.

But still…

"Traitor!" I hiss.

She shrugs out a, "see ya later" and starts walking off. In fact, everyone's walking off. Rehearsal's over.

I look around for Jade, but she's gone too. Probably went t to get her frustrations out by cutting something up.

But I find her by my car after she sends me a text telling me to hurry up.

"Seatbelt." I automatically mumble when we get in.

She ignores me. I know I'm going on a date with her ex and she's mad at me for that, but this really isn't _my_ fault. Still, no one in their right mind would claim Jade's a very rational person.

I lean over her and buckle her in myself.

She unbuckles a minute later.

And I buckle her back in. We go on and on like this. I don't know why she's doing it, but I'm doing it because it's the only kind of interaction I can get out of her right now. She's refusing to talk to me.

"Are you bi?" she suddenly blurts out.

I blink back at her, thanking God we're at a red light.

She raises her eyebrows at me when I don't answer. But I can't help my silence. I feel like this is a trick question or something.

"I know we're dating," she motions a finger between me and her. "But do you look at other girls too?"

I squirm a little in my seat. "Not really."

"It's a yes or no question, Vega."

"What about you?" I ask, knowing she's just gonna tell me that she asked first, therefore I have to answer first. It's an unwritten rule. But I'm trying to buy myself some time 'cause I'm seriously confused. Where is this even coming from?

"I'm straight." She answers and my heart clenches a little. "With the exception of you of course. Now your turn."

Good answer. I like it.

"Same as you." I answer straight away.

"But you think Melissa is pretty."

She is.

"A lot of girls are pretty." I answer vaguely.

"You kissed your friend, Josephina."

I did.

"I was twelve." I shrug. "It wasn't anything serious."

"You kissed Cat."

I had to.

"I was you, and she was Beck. You know that." I explain with a roll of my eyes.

"And you kissed her again after Sikowitz announced the project was over." She rebuttals.

Green light.

"It was an accident." I sigh.

"How do you accidently kiss someone?"

I shrug my shoulders. That's a good question. But it's really difficult to answer believably. I have a feeling I'll just put my foot in my mouth if I try, so I keep quiet.

And so does Jade. The rest of the ride to her house is made in a very awkward silence. The next time I speak or smile, it's because Riley's banging on my window. I have a feeling she was waiting for me to pull up.

Jade gets out of the car without saying goodbye to me and I try to pretend like I'm unaffected by that as I roll my window down.

"Aren't you coming in?" Riley frowns at me.

"Not today, Monstrito. I gotta get ready for a date."

"Why didn't you two just go on the date after school?"

"Oh, I'm not going with Jade."

"Then who are you going with?" She frowns suspiciously. "Did you guys break up or something?"

I shake my head. "No, we didn't break up. This is just for a school project."

"But"-

"Hey," I cut in before she can ask me who I'm going on my "date" with again. "Can you get Amber so I can say bye to her before I go?"

"Why don't you just text her?"

"You're too smart for your own good kid, you know that?" I reach out and ruffle her hair a bit.

"Yeah, I know." She answers, trying to smooth her hair back down.

Amber comes out the door about five seconds after I text. I swear, these kids take their PearPhones wherever they go.

"So, how was school today, Mamita?" I ask as soon as she gets to my window.

"Good." Riley answers for her, and just a little too quickly I might add.

"No it wasn't."

"Shut up, Amber."

"What?" I narrow my eyes suspiciously. "What happened? What are you trying to hide from me, Monstrito?"

"Nothing, see ya Tori," Riley sings before grabbing Amber's hand and tugging roughly. "Let's go!"

"I'm coming!" Amber yells back irritably.

Interesting. And I'll get to the bottom of that later, but first things first. Jade left without saying goodbye. I'm not going to let these to get away with it too.

I open the door and step out of my car.

"Wait!" I yell. They stop in their tracks, Amber first of course. I jog up until I'm in front of them. "Where are you two going without un abrazo?"

"Huh?" they both frown.

"My hug." I repeat in English.

"Wait, how'd you say it?" Riley takes a step toward me; her eyes alight with curiosity and I can't deny her. If the kid wants to learn a little Spanish, why not teach it to her?

"Abrazo."

"Abrazo?" she repeats, but she pronounces it wrong.

"Abrazo." I say slowly. And I make the both of them repeat it until I'm satisfied with their pronunciation.

Amber gets it right first, but Riley's not too far behind her.

"Cool! How do you say stupid?" Riley asks once she's got it down.

"How do you say flower?" This from Amber.

"No, how do you say, gank?"

They fire off word after word after phrase after phrase at lightning speed. "Guys, _guys_, I will teach you more words later okay?" I chuckle "Les prometo."

"Huh?" they chorus together.

"Promise."

"Les pro…." Amber tries.

"Les prometo." I repeat.

It takes them a few tries to get that one down as well, but once they get it I congratulate them with high fives.

"Okay. Denme abrazos. I gotta go."

They both look confused for a second, but then Amber gasps and her eyes widen. "Abrazo!" she says.

Riley's eyes light up too as she gets it as well.

"Well?" I ask.

They both hug me.

Gosh they're quick learners.

I head home, smiling the whole way. I really love those girls. They always make me smile and brighten my day.

So much so that even now, as Trina asks me to clean the fungus out of her toenails, I'm still wearing a little smile on my face.

I decline of course, because that's just gross, and she tries to blackmail me into doing it by threatening to tell our parents about that time me and Jade were caught splunking in the janitor's closet.

Yeah, I never told them about that. I_ never_ planned on them finding out, but I still decline. I'd rather be grounded for the rest of my life than to scrape fungus out of Trina's feet.

"What's with you? You usually cave after a threat like that." Trina whines.

How is it that she's the oldest?

"Get out of my room Trina! I don't have time to deal with you right now. I gotta get ready for this stupid date with Beck." And even if I did have the time, I still wouldn't do it; but I keep that part to myself.

"Fine, I'll tell Jade, you're going on a date with her ex." She blackmails. "Unless…" she holds her foot up, putting it near my face. She doesn't have to raise it much. I _am _bending over to put on my shoes.

I slap her foot away.

"Gross, Trina. No. And Jade already knows, so that won't work."

"Jade knows? And you're still alive?"

I roll my eyes. "It's for a play."

"And you're dressed like that?"

I look down at my clothes. White shorts with a sleeveless black top. I've got on black boots and silver accessories to dress it up a bit. Casual, but still date-y, At least I thought so. "What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?" I frown.

"Nothing."

I ignore her and go downstairs. She doesn't know what she's talking about anyway. I look fine.

"Going somewhere?" My dad asks as soon as he sees me.

"A date."

"Like that?"

Seriously?

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Don't you wanna look nice?" he asks me.

I frown. I thought I did look nice.

"How are you supposed to keep Jade interested if you go on dates looking like that?"

Oh.

"I'm not going with Jade." I explain.

"No?"

"No. It's not a real date. Sikowitz is making me and Beck go on a date from 7 to midnight. It's so that we can have better chemistry and play a believable husband and wife." I say quickly, trying to overload him with information so he won't question anything.

Yeah, that doesn't work.

"Midnight? And what if I say you can't stay out that late?" He huffs. Getting all overprotective dad-like on me.

Seriously?

"I'll get an F if I don't go, Papi." I sigh.

"What kind of homework is that?"

Just then, Mom comes in through the garage and my dad tattles on me. Yeah, he really goes to my mom and tells her about my date with Beck that's supposed to last until midnight.

"It's a performing arts school, David. Trina's had to do weirder things than that!" she rolls her eyes at him, but spares me a wink.

I swear no one looks out for me the way that woman does. I love her so much.

I don't think any of us are expecting company, but I'm relieved when there's a knock on the door.

"I got it." I call, so my parents can continue arguing amongst themselves.

It's Jade…and Cat.

"Um, hi?" I blink at them. I don't remember making plans, but okay.

"Hey." Jade responds in that bored tone of hers.

"Hi, hi, Tori!" Cat sings.

I turn to Cat, deciding to talk to the one who's _not _cranky.

"Hey, Cat. Whatch doin' here?"

"My brother dropped us off."

"Okay, but I asked _what _you are doing here, not _how_ you got here."

"_Oh_, me and Jade are going on the date with you. But not like a double date. We're just gonna sit at another table and watch you"-

"Stop talking." Jade covers her mouth.

Cat nods her head.

I smile at the pair of them. I don't mind them coming at all. In fact, why didn't I come up with it? It's a great idea! I'm sure my dad will like it very much. But not more than me. Now that my girlfriend's coming, this date with Beck will feel even less weird.

"It was a long ride, let me in." Jade adds rudely.

Jeez, my girlfriend has no manners whatsoever. But I step aside anyway and they both come in.

"Hi Tori's Dad! Hi tori's mom." Cat sings as soon as her mouth's free.

My parents greet her back, but they look at me like I'm the one who's supposed to be able to explain her…specialness.

"Cat…I said stop talking."

"Oopsie. I forgot."

"Lemme guess," I turn and shut the door back. "I'm giving you girls a ride." I grin.

"I'm dating a genius." Jade deadpans.

I don't take offense. Just move on. It's time to get this show on the road.

"So, how do I look?" I ask, giving a little twirl.

"Like the biggest gank of all ganks."

"_What, _how?" I whine. I'm wearing more than Cat, and not nearly as much of my cleavage is showing as much as Jade's, yet I'm the head of all ganks?

"You just do."

"Cat," I turn to my bubbly friend. "Do you think I look like a gank?"

Jade glares at Cat, and Cat being as special as she is understands that Jade wants her to agree with her, so she _says _yes, but she simultaneously tells me no by shaking her head.

Gotta love that girl.

I stick my tongue out at Jade. Obviously Cat doesn't think I'm dressed like a gank.

She rolls her eyes at me.

"Mom, Dad, I'm out!" I call. I don't say bye to Trina because…well, she's Trina.

"Wait I just got one question." My Dad says.

"No." I answer.

"It's actually for Jade."

Jade tenses up a little. She doesn't really deal with my parents much. They like her, but I'm not sure if Jade likes them back. I try not to take offense because Jade doesn't really like anyone.

"So, Tori tells me she's going on a date with your ex…"for a play."" My dad air quotes.

"She is." Jade says through clenched teeth.

"And you let her dress like _that_?"

_What?_

Jade glares at me. "I told you. Go change!"

"No!"

My dad starts laughing. Like he knew he'd be causing problems for me. And I bet he did. I bet he did it on purpose. He knows how Jade is and I _really_ don't need this right now. I need to get going because if I don't leave now I'm gonna be late for my date.

"Mom!" I yell.

"I'm right here, Tori. There's no need to yell."

I knew that, but I don't apologize. I'm that bugged.

"Can you take him upstairs," I point to my dad, even though he is the only "him" in this house.

"And do what with him?"

"I don't know, make him happy or something!"

"Acabas de chulear a tu propia madre?" he smirks at me.

"Papi!" I exclaim, though he's kinda right. I kinda did just pimp out my own mother.

Dad turns to my momr. "Holly, I think we were just given the green light to"-

"No!" I cover my ears, snatch up my keys and purse and get the heck out of there. If Jade and Cat wanna come, they better follow.

And they do. Jade sits up front. Cat in the back. And like always, I put her seatbelt on for her and she takes it off before I can even drive off.

Fine. It's not like it's gonna be me that flies through my windshield if I get in an accident.

When we come to a red light, Jade puts her hand on my thigh and I suddenly remember the last time she did this. She was trying to get my phone…after I shoved it in between my legs. I told her she can't touch me there while I'm driving; that she could cause an accident and she asked me if she could touch me when we got to a red light.

We're at a red light. And her hand is slowly traveling upward.

_Oh God, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do…._

After some quick thinking, I realize what I have to do. I lean in a little and whisper, "Do you _really _wanna get me all hot and bothered before my date with Beck?"

She snatches her hand away and glares at me. I smile back smugly.

I won.

Gotta hand it to Beck. He's right on time. It's 6:58pm and he's waiting outside Nozu's for me. Granted, this is for a grade, but even so…brownie points.

"Shall we?" He offers his arm to me and I take it, fighting tooth and nail to _not_ turn around and see how just how wazzed off Jade must be right now.

We sit at the bar, even though we're not old enough to drink. And as soon as I sit, Jade brushes by me, Cat in tow.

She did that on purpose and I scowl at her retreating back…for a long time. Because I can't help but to watch the bounce to her hips. Does Jade ever just walk? Or does she have to strut everywhere she goes?

"So, you're bi?"

"What?" I squeak, turning my attention back to Beck. It's the second time someone's asked me that question, and it's the second time I've been totally caught off guard by it.

"I saw you watching that girl over there." He points.

I nearly tell him I wasn't watching anyone, but then I notice who he's pointing at. "Jade?" I frown.

"You know her?" he asks.

Oh, now I get it. He's acting like we just met.

"Uh, Beck, Sikowitz said we had to go on a date. He never said we have to pretend like we never met."

"You're absolutely right." He agrees with an easy smile.

Just then my phone rings. I roll my eyes when I see the collar ID.

Freakin' Danny.

"Seriously?" I mutter. What could he possibly want?

"Is that Jade?" Beck asks.

I frown at him before shaking my head. Why the heck would he think Jade's calling me? We're in the same restaurant. Why would she even need to call me?

I turn a little in my seat, and see that Jade's on her phone. Okay, that's a bit of a coincidence but still…

"So…" I say, trying to get this date stuff out of the way.

"So…" repeats.

"Tell me everything I need to know about Beck Oliver."

Beck laughs at me.

"What?" I pout.

"Is that a line you actually use on a date?"

"I don't date much." I shrug sheepishly.

"Well"-

My phone chimes, interrupting whatever Beck's tip for me was going to be.

It's a text from Melissa. I look up, searching for her, but I don't see her. Then she sends me another text telling me that I should stop looking for her. She's a good spy, ergo I won't _spy _her.

I roll my eyes and put my phone on the counter; just in case someone else decides to call me.

"Was that Jade?"

"No." I frown back at him. Jeez, why does he keep asking me that?

I can't believe it. My phone's ringing…again. I seriously consider shutting it off until this date is over, but then I see that it's my father.

"Where_ is _Jade?" Beck asks suspiciously, just as I put the phone up to my ear. I can ignore Danny and Melissa, but not my father.

But Beck's tone makes me turn around to see what he's talking about. Jade's gone.

Weird. But not my main concern.

"Hello?" I answer.

"What took you so long to answer?"

"I'm on a date. You know that, Dad!"

Beck scoffs. "Tell Jade to stop interrupting our date."

"I'm not talking to Jade!" I hiss back at him after covering up the mouth piece.

"Of course you aren't." he says at the same time as my dad asks me if I'm listening to him.

"Yeah Dad, but I'm busy"-

"You're too busy for me?"

I pull the phone away from my ear and roll my eyes at it real quick.

"It's not like that and you know it. Quit playing around, I could fail"-

Abruptly, Beck snatches my phone out of my hand.

"Hey!" I exclaim, reaching for it.

But he easily dodges out of my reach.

"Jade, stop interrupting our date. You're being selfish!"

I know the exact second my father starts answering Beck because his eyes widen and his mouth drops open.

"It's for you" he whispers, handing the phone back to me with_ two_ shaky hands.

I don't want that!

But I take it anyway.

"Papi?"

"Ese es el muchaco con quien sales. Ese irrespetuoso pedaso de-"

"Papi, slow down." I get up, excusing myself from the table. It's too loud in here. Someone's just started doing karaoke, and she sounds amazing, but I don't even have the time to stop and look. He's speaking so fast, I can barely understand him.

"Quien se cree? Agarrandote el telefono asi?

"Papi, stop. He didn't mean anything by snatching my phone. He thought you were Jade, okay?" I answer, but he's not hearing me. He keeps on as if I hadn't spoken a word.

Necesitas que yo me aparesca? Ya vengo"

"No, Dad. I don't need you to come up here. Beck's a _really_ nice guy."

"No me impota que digas que es un buen chico, porque no lo es. Se le nota. Puedo leer a la gente, como un libro. Eso es lo que hacen los policías. Así es como me gano la vida."

I roll my eyes. That makes absolutely no sense. "So because you're a police officer you can tell what kind of a person he is over the phone. Is that what you're saying to me?" I ask incredulously.

"Si, eso es lo que te digo." He agrees stubbornly.

"Oh my God, where's Mom?"

"Porque?"

"Why? Because I want to talk to her. That's why."

"What do you want to talk to her for? You're talking to me. Hablame."

"No, no quiero hablar contigo! Quiero hablar con Mami!" I yell back.

"Okay, okay, maybe I was a little too harsh." He finally agrees to back off. He usually does when I get irritated enough to ask for my mommy.

"Maybe?" I scoff.

"Yeah, maybe. And I still don't like him. He better keep his hands to himself." He mumbles.

"Jade's here. I'm sure he will." I say before hanging up.

When I get out of the bathroom, my ears are assaulted with an extremely powerful voice doing some crazy runs. This time I do look.

And oh, my. Gosh. It's Cat!...sounding like _that! _I know she can act. And I've heard her hum little doo-wops to herself a few times but I had no idea she was this good!

"Come a little closer, come a little closer baby, baby, …" she starts singing and I hear a second voice harmonizing with her as she starts shimmying her way towards Jade. Wait…Jade? Jade's doing the harmonizing?"

Oh wow.

In unison, they starts switching their hips from side to side and I gotta say, my eyes zone in to Jade's. I love those things.

"Yeah, you are my baby, and I'll make you crazy tonight." They sing together, but jade winks at me.

Oh gosh. I blush deeply before hurrying to find my seat 'cause I'm feeling a little unsteady.

As soon as I sit next to Beck, I notice he looks a little uncomfortable, but a sad kind of uncomfortable and I feels sorry for him. I have to remember that he's probably hurting. I mean, Jade just broke up with him out of the blue and over the silliest of arguments. It's not like they mutually agreed to go their separate ways.

"You okay?" I ask him, leaning in a little so he can hear me over the music.

He looks me straight in the eyes and frowns. "Am I okay? Is your dad coming?

It takes me a second to get it, and then we both bust out laughing.

"Okay, let's do this." I hiccup on my last bit of laughter.

"Do this?"

"Date. No mention of Jade, at all. Just me and you." I offer him my hand. "Deal?"

He takes my hand in his. "Deal."

"So what's your favorite color?"

He laughs at me again.

"What?"

"I can tell you don't date much. Blue."

"I'm not your boo."

"I said blue. Didn't you ask me what my favorite color was?"

Face palm.

"Oh. Right. Oops."

"So what's _your _favorite color?" he asks me.

I don't have to think about it for long. It used to be yellow, but it's changed recently. "Blue," I answer. But that seems to be so… elusive. Because it's not just any old blue. So I try my best to explain it.. "Well, it's sort of this bluish, greyish, greenish type of blue."

Beck rolls his eyes.

"What?"

"No mention of Jade, remember? That was _your_ rule."

"I didn't"-

"Bluish, greyish, greenish sounds like an eye color to me."

"Whuh?" and then it hits me. Bluish, greyish, greenish.

Jade's eyes. That's my new favorite color.

"I'm so sprung." I groan, dropping my head onto the countertop.

He's laughing at me again, but I don't mind. If I were him, I'd laugh too.

He pats my back. "Cheer up Tori, it's time to order food."

I pick my head up and order, and surprisingly our date starts to go well. Sikowitz really knows what he's doing because I'm a lot more comfortable with Beck now. We really did need some one-on-one time. It's helped me to remember that he's my friend.

But easy going conversations only last for a few hours. It's 11pm and we've kinda run out of stuff to talk about. So we've just ordered more food. Not because we're hungry again, but so that we'll have something to do.

"Okay, okay I know what we can talk about now." I say suddenly once our food arrives.

"What?"

"How is it that you're eating with this when you should be using these?" I snatch up his fork and hand him a pair of chopsticks.

"Because I'm American, now gimme my fork back."

"You're Canadian."

"Oh, right."

We both start laughing. Suddenly, he lunges for his fork but I snatch it back and out of reach. He almost got it though. His arms are a little longer than mine. So, as an act of desperation, I sit on it.

"Seriously?" he moans.

"Seriously." I confirm.

"You are evil." He smiles before finally picking up his sticks. "Alright, show me how it's done."

Wepa!

I perk up, going straight into teaching mode. Before I came to Hollywood Arts, that's what I wanted to be. A teacher.

I show him how to hold the sticks, letting him copy my hands. He tries a little, but it's not long before he drops one of the sticks and spears the sushi through the middle.

I shake my head and snatch the food away.

"Oh, come on Tori!"

"No, you come on Beck." I mimic his whine. "Now, gimme your hand."

He does so and I place the chopsticks in there for him. Then I physically show him how each finger is supposed to move in order for him to be able to pick any food up. Some people are more hands on than others.

It takes a little time, but eventually he gets the basic movement down and he shakily, but successfully, grabs a sushi roll and gets it in his mouth.

"Yes!" we cheer, and I high-five him with both hands.

"You know what tori?"

"What?"

"I had fun with you tonight." He says with an easy smile.

"Me too." I agree. "I'm actually glad I came."

"Same here. We should do it again."

"No the fuck you shouldn't."

I wazz a little in my pants. The voice behind me, it just came out of nowhere. And I definitely know who it belongs to.

"Jade!" I exclaim.

"Date's over." She glares at the both of us.

I gulp. Twice.

"It's 11:59. I still have a minute." Beck says. Then he leans in and kisses me. "I had a great time Tori." He says to me.

I don't have an answer. I just gulp again. Because I know, I _know_, that I'm gonna die.

Beck smiles at Jade. "Okay, now the dates over."


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's note: **Guys, I just wanna say I'm sorry for the long waits. I know, I apologize for it every time; but it's because I _truly _feel bad about it _every _time. Especially when I get the PMs that remind me that I haven't updated in a while.

I want you to know that I don't do it on purpose. I swear it. I'm just really not as good or creative as you guys think I am. Ideas come to me quickly enough, but it's the wording that I always have trouble with. I'm _always _rewriting and reworking my chapters. I try to do it until I'm satisfied, but that never works out 'cause I'm never _actually_ satisfied with my work. I just get tired of it after a while and post what I got, hoping and praying that my mistakes are minimal and that you guys are able to enjoy it.

So, I really hope you guys enjoy this, even though I'm so sick and tired of this stupid chapter. I swear, I read it so many times that I literally had a dream about it last night. But it was a good dream because it was the bathroom scene at the end, and what I dreamed was so much more graphic than what I wrote;)

{~~~~JADE~~~~}

"You ready to go, babe?" I ask Vega as if I couldn't care less that my ex just put his lips on hers. It's taking my best acting efforts, but I'm not gonna give him the satisfaction of knowing just how pissed off I am.

I hate being told what to do, even subliminally. And I can tell Beck _wants_ me to pitch a fit. So I'm not gonna do it. I refuse.

My thoughts are reaffirmed when Beck gives me a confused frown.

"That's it?" He asks.

Vega looks as if she's about to ask the same thing but I dip my eyebrows as if _I'm _confused. As if _they're_ the ones having a weird reaction.

"What?" I snap when they continue to stare.

"I just kissed your "girlfriend."" Beck answers, putting air quotes around girlfriend.

I give him another confused look and gesture between the two of them. "Weren't you two on a date?"

"Well, yeah but"-

"Vega kisses on the first date." I cut him off with a dismissive shrug.

"No I don't!" My girlfriend rebuttals.

Uh, yes she does. And I remind her.

"Don't you remember our first date, babe?" I ask; gathering up her purse for her because she seems to not have understood that it's time to go. Not only is Nozu's closed, but_ I'm _ready to go.

"I…" she stops there, unable to deny it as she thinks back to the double date with Wazzbag and Redhead. There was _a lot_ of kissing on that date. In fact, thinking back on it, I'm pretty sure I wet my bottoms during our trip to the bathroom.

"And even before that," I continue loudly, stepping closer to her and totally invading her personal space. "Don't you remember ending up in my bed, _naked_, on your first day at Hollywood Arts?"

"I…" she stumbles back, trying to create some distance between the two of us. Only, being the klutz that she is, she nearly loses her footing. I catch her, grabbing the front of her shirt with one hand and yanking her toward me. She's right in my face, nose nearly touching mine.

"Careful." I murmur huskily. Then I kiss her lips lightly before letting her go.

Her face is bright red, a little embarrassment probably, but it's mostly shame. She can't meet my eyes. She can't meet Beck's eyes. She can't meet _anyone's_ eyes because she's unable to deny _that_ as well. That she ended up naked and beneath me the first day we met. So what if we didn't fuck. There's enough implied to suggest that we did.

There's also this nagging feeling in my head. I'm pretty sure it's Tori trying to make me feel uneasy. My comment was aimed Beck's way, but I know it's got to be affecting Vega. Basically, I just called her a home wrecking slut; because honestly, who _else_ sleeps with someone else's girlfriend the first day she meets her? I don't even think a Northridge girl would stoop so low.

But I push any feelings of guilt I have aside. I don't care if I embarrassed her. I feel like she needs to be punished as well. Yeah, I realize _she_ didn't kiss Beck. Hekissed her; but, I _just_ told her how I feel about her being so goddamn friendly all the time. If she wasn't so touchy feely with him maybe he wouldn't have felt comfortable kissing her in the first place.

After mentally psyching myself out of feeling guilty, I turn back to Beck. "Seriously, if a kiss was the best you could get out of _your_ first and_ last_ date with my girlfriend, then I worried for nothing." With that, I stomp my way out of Nozu's, not even bothering to check if anyone's following after me. I know everyone is. Even if they weren't leaving because the restaurant's closed, they'd still follow after me.

I've nearly made it to Vega's car when I hear Beck's voice behind me. "We were still going out her first day at Hollywood Arts!" He exclaims.

_Finally! _I thought he was never gonna catch on to that.

I turn around and face him. "_And_…"

"You're saying _you_ cheated on _me_?" He asks disbelievingly.

His arrogance is enough to make me reconsider putting my hands on him. It's like he thinks there's no way I'd ever cheat on him, like he's _that_ good of a catch…

He runs a hand through his hair and turns so he can look at Vega; no doubt he's sent a questioning glare her way, but she doesn't see it. She still can't meet his eyes; not even as she chokes out an apology, genuine looking tears in her eyes.

The girl sure knows how to cry on cue, I'll give her that.

He whips back around to face me. "I don't believe you!" he declares.

"I don't care."

That wasn't a calculated response on my part. That was the first thing to fly out of my mouth because I _don't _care if he believes it or not. I _seriously_ don't give a flying fuck.

He blinks at me.

"You…" he points, but he doesn't finish. His face falls instead. He looks utterly crushed and I get a twisted satisfaction out of his hurt.

What the hell's wrong with me? I love Beck, right? I'm dating Vega so that we can get back together and _stay_ together this time, but I don't know…I just want to _break_ him for kissing my girlfriend. I want to fuck up his psychy so bad that he'll forever have trust issues. That he'll be afraid to have relationships because he's too paranoid about getting hurt again. I want him hesitant with intimacy; to doubt himself and his ability to please women. I want him turned into a sniveling bitch with low self-esteem. I want him to feel worthless.

There's an urge to physically hurt him as well, but I've always been a bigger fan of psychologically damaging people. Those scars last longer. And in my mind he deserves nothing less. Maybe next time he'll think before he puts his stupid lips on my girlfriend.

Suddenly he grabs my hand, pulling me out of hearing distance from everyone.

"What?" I snap once he stops walking.

"You said you wanted me to prove _I'm _loyal and then you go and do this!" He gestures toward Vega's car.

And now I understand; it wasn't arrogance that wouldn't allow him to believe I cheated on him. It was the promise I made to him. And I start to feel a little bad.

Before we even started dating eight months ago, I told him that I wasn't into the dating thing. He persisted so I laid it out for him. I wasn't going to sleep with him, not unless he could prove his loyalty to me first. I told him guys are only interested in splunking, that if he wasn't getting enough from his girlfriend that he'd go elsewhere to get it and I didn't have time for that shit. I think he assumed that I was badly scarred by some other guy because he didn't question my logic like his predecessors. They always fed me the, "I'm not that type of guy" line.

So Beck, like the other guys before him, asked how long it would take to prove his loyalty; and I gave him the same answer I gave them. A year.

It's a ridiculously unrealistic time to expect any hormonal driven teenaged guy to wait for sex; but I wasn't expecting consent. Like I said, I wasn't really into the dating thing anyway. I _wanted _them to walk away, and they did.

But Beck didn't. He agreed.

At first I thought it was some sort of trick, that he was gonna try to pressure me into sex after we'd been dating for a month or two. But he didn't; and he kept his end. He stayed loyal to me for eight months so far, as far as I can tell anyway, and now it's seemed that I made him wait for nothing; that I'm the one who couldn't be loyal and keep it in my pants.

"If you've always been into girls you should've said something, I wouldn't have wasted my time." Beck spits at me.

Oh so now I'm a waste of time, huh? And just like that I no longer feel sorry for him. I want to make him hurt again, for kissing my girlfriend, for thinking that dating me was a waste of time…

"I'm not into girls." I roll my eyes as if the idea is truly absurd, never mind the fact that I _am _currently dating a girl. "Vega just happens to be extremely talented with her hands… and her tongue." I add on after thinking about it for half a second. "No one's ever made me feel the way she does. _Ever._" I answer with just a touch of vulnerability at the end. Just so I can seem honest and not obviously vindictive with my answer. Then I straighten up, like I hadn't wanted him to see me get all sappy. "I mean, I can do without all the sweating and stuff…" I trail off; forcing my voice into nonchalance and just a tiny hint of disgust.

"You don't sweat." He says, right on cue. And I can see a bit of hope flare up in his eyes. That was right on cue as well.

I shrug, moving in for the kill. "Vega can make me sweat. It's disgusting, but I deal with it because she makes it worth it. _Every_ time." I practically moan at the end, as if I'm actually remembering a few of those "times" right this second.

I can see the immediate affect my words have on Beck. By saying no one's ever made me feel the way Vega does, he knows that I'm including him in that equation; basically telling him she's a better turn on than him. His ego has taken such a heavy blow that I expect him to try and crawl underneath a rock.

But he doesn't. He quickly puts up a shield. Denial.

"You're lying." He tells me. "You just want to hurt me, but it's not gonna work."

I roll my eyes. Dude is stubborn as hell, but I can see it. He's grasping at straws. He believes me, but he won't let himself admit it.

I want to push further, add a few more lines; but this scene is over. Adding anything else will be overkill. He'll realize it as well. He's almost as good as an actor as me.

Almost.

"Can I go now? I'm supposed to have my girlfriend tucked in by one." I don't wait for an answer before I head for Vega's car.

I hear him say a few swears behind me, but I don't turn around. I just keep going.

Once I get to Vega's car, I get a little surprise when I try the passenger door handle. It's locked. Not only that, but fucking Melissa's in the passenger seat, _my_ seat.

She looks at me quickly before turning and patting Vega's shoulder; then points to her window, toward me. My girlfriend squints a little, and when she realizes it's me, she points to the space behind her, the empty seat next to Cat… in the back. She means for me to sit back there.

There's no fuckin' way that I will.

I strut over to the driver's side and knock on her window. She ignores me the first time, so I knock again, more urgently.

I swear, this girl…

"What?" she mouths, finally turning to look at me.

I make a motion with my fingers, signaling for her to roll down her window.

She doesn't look as if she's about to, but then Melissa says something to her and she rolls her eyes before doing it.

I glare at Redhead. Nobody asked for her fucking help. I can deal with Vega on my fucking own!

"What?" she repeats, giving me this really intense glare. She's really pissed off. I don't know what for. _I'm _the one who had to sit and watch my girlfriend flirt with my ex for five long fuckin' hours.

"What's _your _problem?" I hiss, eyes flashing dangerously. If she can be pissed, I'll show her fuckin' livid.

"I'm not a slut!" She yells back at me, not the least bit intimidated.

I won't lie; it kind of threw me off a little, but just a teeny bit.

I squint at her. "No one said you are."

"You told Beck I slept with you the first day I met you!"

"You did." I quickly glance at Cat and Melissa, hoping to remind Vega not to blow our cover. But she doesn't need the reminder.

She snatches open her door, and jumps out, pointing her finger at me.

I back up a little, but only so I don't get hit by her door

_Yeah, right._

Fuck you, Tori.

"But that doesn't mean you had to tell _him_ that!" She yells even louder, now pointing her arm behind her, in the general direction Beck _used_ to be. "And you didn't just tell him! You told _everybody_ in Nozu's; people I don't even know!"

And with all that anger, and pissed off-ness, there's undeniably some hurt there too. She's really upset over this, over being referred to as a slut. I don't think now is the best time to ask her why it bothers her so bad because I remember how my girlfriend gets when she's this upset. She starts screaming, and then the Spanish starts flying, and I don't know what the fuck she's saying so I don't know_ how_ to calm her down, or if I'm even saying the right things _to_ calm her down….

It's just better to nip this shit in the bud _before_ we get to that point.

"Babe," I say, reaching out for her, but she jerks away from me.

"What, Jade?! What!?" She snaps.

Yeah, she's good and pissed.

And fucking hot as hell.

_Focus Jade!_

Tori's right. I can't think about how hot my girlfriend is right now. I have to calm her down. Now. Before she goes on that Spanish frenzy thing she does when she's super pissed.

I take a step closer to her and reach for her again. She continues to glare at me, but she doesn't back away from me this time.

Progress. Good.

I link both pinkies with hers and try to look her straight in the eyes, but she avoids eye contact. "When I said that, I didn't think of how that would make you sound."

_Yes you did._

Shut up, Tori!

"I just wanted to hurt him for kissing my girlfriend." I'm able to finish, despite my argument with my stupid conscience.

Vega doesn't answer me; still doesn't even look at me, just stares at some point beside my head. She's still mad. I have a feeling that if I wasn't holding on to her pinkies right now, she'd have her hands crossed over her chest. A defensive stance.

She's really, _really_, upset.

I sigh deeply and drop her pinkies. As soon as I do she crosses her arms over her chest.

Just like I thought; but I try not to let it bother me as I grab a hold of her face with both hands.

"Baby, look at me," I command softly.

She exhales heavily and blinks twice before doing it, before her eyes are locked on mine.

"I'm sorry." I say simply. "I'm really sorry for hurting you like that."

She sniffs and I truly realize how bad it is. Those tears aren't fake.

Having a girlfriend is a little tougher than I thought it would be. I mean, Beck wouldn't have cried if I had indirectly called him a slut. And I want to explain that to her, that I'm new to this.

"You're my first girlfriend," I start off. She blinks at me and I know she knows exactly what I'm about to say. It's like déjà vu has set in because she was going to say the same thing to me a few days ago. I'm sure of it. She never finished, claiming my beauty had distracted her, and I was left wondering where she was gonna go with that, but now I know. I understand what she was trying to say, because I find myself wanting to say the same thing. "I'm gonna make a lot of mistakes," I continue. "But work with me. I'll get it right eventually." I plead.

She nods her head.

I pull her face closer to mine and place a hesitant kiss on her lips, not sure if she'll pull away. She doesn't, and I kiss her twice more.

"I won't do it again." I whisper. "I promise."

"You mean it, Jade?" she sniffs.

I nod my head.

"Okay." She whispers back, wrapping her arms around my neck and inviting me into a hug.

I'm not the hugging type, but I take it without trepidation.

"Forgive me?" I ask. My arms wrapping around her waist before I slip my hands under her shirt. I rub her back, making small circles at the very small of her back. I know how much she likes that.

She sighs and nods her head as she begins to relax against me. She even presses her face into my neck.

I squeeze her tightly, pressing her against me as close as I can get her. God. It feels so good to have her not mad at me anymore. Too good. Geez, what's going on with me? Get it together Jade. Say something rude or _something_.

"Babe."

"Hm?"

"Tell Melissa to get out of my seat." Yeah, not my best, but it'll do.

"No." she chuckles against my neck.

"I'm not sitting in the back." I answer defiantly.

She pulls back, hands braced against my shoulders while mine are still rubbing circles into her back. "It won't kill you." She tells me.

I shake my head. "I'm not doing it."

"Why not?" she asks, eyes sparkling and teasing. It's so hard to believe that she's was so wazzed off not even a full five minutes ago. And as hot as she is when she's wazzed off, she's not so bad looking when she's grinning goofily either.

I lean in on impulse and kiss her. I try not to think about how this isn't a part of the "girlfriend act" we've got going; that I'm kissing Vega just for the sake of _wanting _to kiss her.

She's the first to pull back. "You can't just kiss me when you want to have your way, it's not fair."

I blink at her stupidly. What the hell's she talking about?

Suddenly there's a loud honking. It's coming from Vega's car because Redhead's hand is repeatedly pressing on the horn. No doubt it's her way of getting our attention because she wants to go home. Then I remember. I had been asking for my seat back.

I scowl back at the redheaded girl in my spot. I don't remember her arriving with us, so why the fuck are we giving her a ride home?

"Jade, let go of me." Vega yawns, hands sliding down my arms to rest on top of mine. It's as if she's suddenly realized how late it is. "Everyone's tired. Just look at Cat." She yawns again.

I peer into the backseat and roll my eyes. Cat's asleep, the bottom half of her body on the seat while her head is nearly touching the floor.

And I thought Amber was a wild sleeper…

Vega tugs on my hands a little, trying to get me to release her; but I don't let go. I don't care how exhausted everyone is. I'm not letting go until I get my damn seat back.

"Tell her to get out of my seat." I demand.

"_Jade…" _Vega whines, wiping at her eyes. She's sleepy too.

"I can keep you here all night." I answer, showing absolutely no pity.

"Okay, Okay, hold on." She relents.

When I let her go, she bends over and leans far enough into her car to whisper something in Melissa's ear. I'm so busy admiring my girlfriend's ass that I nearly miss the way Redhead grins wickedly before looking at me expectantly.

"What'd you say to her?" I glare at my girlfriend suspiciously.

She gets in all the way, shuts her door, and hangs her head out of the window before answering me. "I told her to give you your seat back"-

"So why isn't she-"

Vega holds her finger up. "_If…"_

I duck my head a little, coming face to face with my girlfriend "If _what_, Vega." I growl.

She leans in and kisses me softly. "_If _you ask nicely."

"The hell I will."

She kisses me again, a quick peck this time. "Then sit in the back, Mami."

I scowl at her. "You're punishing me." I accuse. "I thought you said you forgave me."

She rolls her eyes and shakes her head at me. "Asking politely for your seat is not a punishment, Jade."

_It's really not, Jade._

Fuck you, Tori.

Still, I walk around the front of the car and knock on the passenger window. When it's rolled down, I lean my head in a little and address Melissa. "Can you _please_ get the fuck out of my seat?"

Redhead rolls her eyes, but starts to get up.

"Sit." I hear Vega command, and just in case Melissa doesn't plan on doing as she was told, my girlfriend puts a hand on her arm.

"Come on Icky, she said please. That's good for her." Redhead pleads on my behalf, probably because she's tired and ready to go.

"Yeah, Vega, I said please." I add on.

My girlfriend just shakes her head and raises her eyebrows at me.

Fine!

"Melissa, may I please sit there."

Redhead looks to Vega, and my girlfriend nods her head.

Instead of getting out of the car, Redhead climbs over the seat and into the back. Probably so that I won't "accidently" kick her when she passes me. Smart cookie 'cause I won't lie, I _was _planning on doing something like that.

We drop Cat off first, then Redhead. By then, it's nearing one thirty and Vega keeps yawning. I'm not surprised. She goes to bed early, like ten at the latest. So I know she's exhausted. At this point, I don't think I can trust her not to fall asleep behind the wheel, so I make her switch with me.

She protests at first, but then I promise her that I'll wear my seatbelt the whole time and she gives in. She's so easy some times.

By the time we get to my place, it's two o'clock and she's nearly sound asleep. There's no way I'm gonna let her drive home.

"Babe." I call, shaking her shoulder lightly.

"Hm?" she yawns widely.

"You should probably spend the night."

"Whuh?"

"You can't drive home like this. You're too sleepy. By the time you get home it'll be two thirty in the morning. Besides, you gotta drive back over here in a couple hours anyway."

She nods her head. As if she's confirming that I have a point. But she doesn't say anything else. Just blinks slowly and yawns some more. She's really out of it.

"Call your dad." I command. "Tell him you're staying over."

She blinks a few more times, trying to wake up enough to find her phone.

I go through her purse for her and hand it to her.

"Thanks." she slurs.

"Don't mention it."

She holds the phone in her hand like she doesn't know what to do with it; actually, it's more like she doesn't even know _what _it is.

"I got it, babe." I shake my head and take it from her. Then I scroll through her contacts, find "Dad," and press it.

When he answers, I press the phone to Vega's ear.

The sound of her father's voice wakes her up almost completely and she takes the phone from my hands.

"Dad? I'm staying over at Jade's….no I'm not being coerced….I'm not drugged. I'm sleepy….because I can't drive home tonight, I'll fall asleep at the wheel!...Yes….Yes…No…I know….I know…I _know_…._Papi_!"

I smirk a little at his overprotectiveness. That is until she holds the phone out to me. That wipes the smile right off of my face.

"Here," She says simply.

I blink at her and she pushes the phone out even more. So I take it.

"Hello?"

"Jade, hey it's Mr. Vega."

I know that.

"What can I do for you Mr. Vega?" I ask, trying my best to keep my voice steady and confident.

"Nothing. I just wanted to make sure she was with you and no one else. I know you'd take good care of my little girl. Because you care for her, right?"

"Right." I confirm, like I'd say anything else.

"And you'd never let anything happen to her, right?"

"Right."

"And you'd never let anyone take advantage of her, right?"

"Right."

"_You_ wouldn't even take advantage of her, right?"

Gulp. "Right."

"Good, because if anything ever happened to my baby girl, I just don't know what I'd do, you know?"

My heart skips a beat, but I'm still able to answer.

"Right." I say.

"Good night, Jay."

"Right." I answer, unable to say anything else. I'm seriously freaked out. My hands are fucking sweaty. And my heart, it's trying to pound its way out of my chest. _Fuck_.

_Calm down, Jade. Just calm down. It's not like he threatened you._

I repeat that message in my head a few more times before my body actually starts to listen to my mind's coaching.

Still, I'm a bit shaken. I glance over at my girlfriend, hoping she's not gonna tease me about the heart to heart I'd just had with her dad, but her eyes are closed. She missed the whole thing.

"Vega, wake up!" I snap, a bit envious of her calm demeanor while I probably won't get any sleep at all tonight.

"I'm not sleep." She mumbles; then yawns for the hundredth time tonight. "What did my dad say?"

"He said we can share a bed as long as we don't fuck." I answer shortly.

"Jade!"

"That was the gist of it anyway. Let's go."

My girlfriend's much more tired than I originally thought. She trips over her feet getting out the car and nearly slams her own hand in her door.

"Come on." I go to her, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"I can walk," she mumbles out a weak protest.

"I'm sure you can, baby." I patronize, still not letting go. It'd be just my luck if she fell down and broke her ankle. Her father would gun me down for sure for not bringing his "baby girl" home in one piece.

While I unlock the front door, Vega leans pretty heavily on me. I get the impression she could fall asleep standing up. I even expect to hear her snoring any second now.

Hm, I wonder if she _does _snore.

Going up the steps is a little harder. A sleepy Vega is the clumsiest klutz I've ever witnessed in my entire life.

I pull her closer to me, supporting more of her body weight as I drag her upstairs. She stumbles on the last step, loud enough to wake everyone in the house. Literally.

Joy comes out of her room first, takes one look at Vega and says, "Is she drunk?"

"Nope. Clumsy." I answer shortly.

"No. _Sleepy."_ Vega chimes in.

I roll my eyes. She's clumsy when she's awake too, or doesn't she know that?

Then Riley and Amber come out. "What'd you do to her this time?" You can bet the little brat who spoke is Riley.

"Go back to bed." I scowl at the both of them. Amber goes back immediately. She actually likes to sleep, and is usually a pretty heavy sleeper on top of that. The kid can sleep through an earthquake if she's in a deep enough slumber. Literally. She's done it before.

Riley, on the other hand, takes a step forward.

"Go back to bed, Riley." Joy commands.

"So Tori's spending the night?" Riley takes another step forward, definitely not heading towards her bed like her mother said.

"Riley Jade! I said go back to bed. _Now_."

"Fine." she mumbles, slamming her door shut.

She really hates her middle name.

"Riley Jade?" Vega questions. Of course she'd choose this moment to perk up.

Joy shrugs. "Jade picked her middle name. Amber's too. I had no idea she was such an egotistical nine year old." She chuckles.

"What's Amber's middle name?" Vega asks me.

I'm tempted to ignore her, but then with Joy standing right there, she could just ask her.

"Jade." I push out through clenched teeth.

"Amber Jade and Riley Jade?" Vega smiles at me.

"What?" I scowl. "She told me I could pick any name in the world. I didn't think she was stupid enough to mean it."

"Jade…" Joy warns.

"I think it's sweet." Vega says.

It wasn't sweet. It was pathetic. Joy said she wanted the twins' names to be a group effort, a _family_ effort. She would pick their first names, Dad would supply their last, and I could pick their middle names. She told me I could pick any name I wanted. Any name in the world.

I picked my name, for both girls. I understood that we had the same father, but I still wanted to put a little of me in them I guess. I didn't expect Joy to keep her word. But she did. And I was happy about that. I warmed up to her considerably afterward. In fact, we got along much better, until she shipped me off to New York with Ellen and my father five years later.

"Tori, sweetie, can I have a moment with Jade?" Joy suddenly asks, bringing me back to the present.

I roll my eyes. I don't want to have a moment with Joy.

But my girlfriend says, "Sure." And three seconds later I'm alone in the hallway with my stepmother.

"So, how would you like to get your keys back?" She asks.

"No thank you," I grunt. Honestly, I would love my keys back, but I have this feeling, call it intuition, that I'm not gonna like whatever my stepmother wants me to do in order _to _get them back.

"Come on Jade, it's not that bad."

"I said no." I turn away from her, ready to head for my bedroom when her next words stop me.

"You'll have the house to yourself for a whole five days," she sings.

And I crack. I admit it. The promise of being alone, no brats, no Joy, for nearly a week? I turn back around. "What do I have to do?"

"Bradley's birthday is in a few weeks. We're gonna go to Grandma Irene and Grandpa Bill's to celebrate, drop the girls off, and then I need you to give me a ride to the airport because I have to catch a flight to DC the next morning. How's that sound?"

How's that sound? It sounds like I'd rather go keyless indefinitely. I hate her parents' place. I hate her parents too, _and_ that little runt Joy calls a brother. He's turning thirteen, or nine, or fifteen, _somewhere _around there, this year.

It's disturbing really. What the hell were Joy's parents doing still, well, _doing_ it? They're old. And gross.

"Why can't you just rent a car?" I protest.

"Jade, honey, I can't really afford to do it. That's why I'm asking _you_ to give me a ride."

I frown at her. She's lying. Has to be. I know she gets more than enough in child support and alimony from my father to pay for the bills. And on top of that she has a job. So, what the hell's she doing with her money? She doesn't really have any major bills. Just her phone, and whenever she wants to go out shopping, which she doesn't really do much of. Honestly, she should be sitting on quite a pile of money. And she wants to tell me she can't afford to rent a car?

I narrow my eyes at her. "Why can't you afford it?"

"Excuse me?" she blinks at me, as if she can't believe I had the nerve to ask her that.

Seriously? It's like she doesn't know me at all.

"Why can't you afford it?" I repeat slowly. "My father pays the mortgage, and the electric, and for our clothes, and food and"-

"Well your father doesn't pay for your school!" She cuts me off. "Hollywood Arts is _not_ a public school, Jade. It's not free!" she hisses angrily.

I blink at her. What? Did she just…did she just tell me….Is she trying to say that _she _pays for my school; that _that's _why she has a job?

"Oh, I'm so sorry sweetie." She rushes up to me, but she doesn't touch me. She doesn't seem to know what to do with her hands in fact. "I just…I don't regret having to do it. I want you to go. You _thrive _there. I know we have our differences and I know how strongly you feel about me most of the time, so I wasn't going to tell you until after you graduated." -

"Why?" It's all I can get out. Just that one word, my brain is in complete disarray right now.

"Well, I know how you can be sometimes and I didn't want you to decide to stop going because you get mad at me or whatever"-

"No," I interrupt because she's misunderstood me. "I mean, why are you paying? Why isn't my father…?"

She ducks her head a little and bites her lip. "You know how your father is."

She starts rambling on; probably trying to sugar coat my father's fucked up actions and ways of thinking. But I ignore her because I _do_ know how he is without her having to explain it to me. I know he thinks trying to make a career out of acting is a waste of time; but I thought he was just challenging me, wanting me to prove him wrong. Why else would he be paying for my education at Hollywood Arts if not for that reason, right?

But he's not paying. He wasn't challenging me. He honestly doesn't believe in me.

"I mean, I heard you singing in the bathroom_ all_ the time and you were always so um… _creative_," Joy continues. And I finally tune back in. "And you had the most unusual way of thinking and I just thought you'd like a performing arts school. Thought you would blend in a little better than you did at that public school." She smiles.

I remember that. I remember not liking regular school. Kids are assholes. They hated me, but I didn't cry. I hated them right back. Stabbed one little boy with my safety scissors; and when my teacher asked me if I was sorry my answer had been my scissors weren't that sharp, He wasn't even bleeding.

I was constantly in trouble, if not for fighting, then for not paying attention in class. I was always "acting out," I never did my homework "correctly," Always preferring to do things my way.

Then one day, when I was twelve, Joy took me out of school. I was actually okay with that. Me and Joy got along okay then. She brought me to Hollywood Arts to audition. I was too young to attend of course, but there was nothing wrong with trying to get a head start. They were very impressed. Couldn't wait for me to attend and guaranteed me a spot so long as my parents could come up with tuition.

I always thought my father made her take me. It never occurred to me that she was doing it behind his back. Come to think of it, it _was_ around that time that Joy got a job. I remember the argument they got into over it. It was the first and last time I heard Joy use swear words. And not just little ones either. There were like thirty fucks, and a lot of asssholes…lots of shits too. I was impressed.

"Okay, fine. I'll drop you off at the airport." I relent. It's the least I can do. I'm just now realizing just how much I owe this woman.

"And go to Bradley's birthday?"

I scowl, but I agree. "And go to the brat's birthday party." I mutter.

"Seriously?" she squeals and claps her hands like a freakin' tween.

I slap my hand over my forehead. "Don't make me change my mind." I groan.

She ignores me, still all happy and uber excited. "Goodnight, honey." She grins.

If she kisses me I'm gonna twist her lips off. But she doesn't. She pats my shoulder and turns away.

"Wait." I call. She turns around with a frown, probably thinking I've changed my mind, which actually doesn't sound like a bad idea. "Can I bring Vega?" I ask instead.

"When are you gonna start calling her Tori?"

"I hate Tori." I respond automatically. Because seriously, that bitch has been irritating the fuck out of me all night.

She wrinkle's her eyebrows. And I realize how that must've sounded.

"I like Vega much better than Tori." I explain.

"_Oh_, you're talking about the name. I was confused for a second there. Sure, she can come."

Instead of thanking her, I mutter, "When are you not confused?" before heading for my bedroom.

As soon as I open the door, Vega's coming out. "I gotta wazz." She explains before I can ask.

Seriously? I'm starting to seriously think she has a bladder problem. But I do notice she's changed. Not just her hair, which is in a messy bun at the top of her head; she's wearing my clothes, a t-shirt and a pair of cotton shorts. She didn't ask my permission, and oddly I'm okay with that for some reason.

I take off my clothes and get in bed.

It's not long before she comes back. With a loud yawn she slides into my bed and turns her back on me. I frown, wondering if that's just the side she likes to sleep on or if she's trying to keep some form of distance from me. I also find myself wondering why or even_ if_ it matters.

I come to the conclusion that it _does_ matter about a minute later. She's my girlfriend; we shouldn't be sleeping so far apart from each other. Only couples who have been with each other too long, or are mad at one another sleep this far apart. And we're neither of those. In fact, if she were really my girlfriend, we'd be having some pretty heavy duty make up sex right now. As my fake girlfriend, she should at _least_ be sleeping close to me.

"I would've pegged you for the cuddling type." I say, just to try and see if I can gauge where her head is at.

"I usually am." She mumbles.

"But not tonight?"

She shrugs her shoulders.

It irritates me. I'm not sure why. It's not like _I'm _the cuddling type.

I scoot closer to her, pressing my body up against hers and laying my arm over her waist.

She stiffens. "Are you naked?"

"I sleep naked." I shrug. Just because she's here, in my bed, doesn't mean I'll change my ways. In fact, as we're dating that's an even bigger reason for me_ not _to change my ways.

I'm prepared to have this argument with her, but she says nothing else. Just picks up my hand and moves it off of her waist.

I put it back immediately.

And she removes it again. Not only that, but she scoots away from me, as far as she can possibly get.

For some reason it pisses me off.

I scoot all the way over until every inch of my front is up against her back, and I wrap an arm around her waist. She squirms a little but can't scoot over any more, not only do I refuse to let go of her, but if she scoots any farther away she'll fall out of the bed.

"What's your problem?" I hiss.

"I'm tired, Jade!" She snaps.

"Then stay still and go to sleep!" I snap back.

"I _can't_ go to sleep!"

"Why not?"

She lets out a frustrated sigh and goes still, refusing to say anything else.

"Is it because I don't have clothes on?" Seriously, if it's that big of a fuckin' deal then I'll just go get a t-shirt to sleep in.

"No. I'm okay with that."

Really? Then if it's not my nakedness that's bothering her…

"Are you still mad at me?" I venture.

"No."

"You don't like being touched while you're asleep?" I try

"No, that's not it." She sighs heavily.

"You wanna sleep naked too?"

"_Jade._"

"What?" I sigh. Although I wouldn't mind it if Vega slept naked, at _all_, I wasn't being perverted. It was a legitimate guess.

"No, that's not it either."

I give up.

"I hate guessing things, babe." I sigh exasperatedly.

There's a long pause before she speaks again.

"You're gonna laugh at me."

Laugh at her? For what?

"I'm not going to laugh, baby." I promise; then I kiss the back of her neck reassuringly.

"How do _you_ know?"

I honestly _don't _know, but at this moment in time, I don't think I'd find _anything_ too funny. I'm tired and slightly irritated. "Just tell me what it is and I'll"-

"I'm not telling you!" she snaps.

Okay….

"So how do you know I'm going to laugh?" I ask.

"I gotta wazz." She gets up, stomping her way to the bathroom.

"You just wazzed!"

"I gotta wazz again!" she slams my door shut behind her.

"Ugh!" I lie on my back and run a hand through my hair. I don't think anyone's ever frustrated me the way this girl does. Ever!

Nearly ten minutes later and my girlfriend's not back yet. Either she's taking the longest wazz in the history of wazzes, or she's not wazzing at all.

I get up, get dressed quickly, snatch my door open and head for the bathroom. The light's on, so she just might be in there.

I turn the knob. It's locked.

It's so weird. We're not allowed to lock the doors here, Vega knows that, but she doesn't really live here so it's easy for her to forget.

"Open the door." I command, trying to be loud enough for her to hear me, but still trying to be quiet enough not to wake Joy or the brats.

"Go away." comes Vega's muffled reply.

"I know how to jimmy the lock." I bluff.

The door's opened seconds later.

My eyes widen and my jaw drops a little when I set eyes on my girlfriend's face. Vega was just fine when she left my room, but now she's sporting a bruise under her left eye.

"What the fuck happened to you?"

"Nothing." She shrugs, pressing a wet washcloth to her face.

"Well, did you fall?" I press.

"I'm sorry." A small voice says.

I look down and spot Amber. She's ringing her hands nervously and I easily put two and two together. "You did this?" I point at her.

"I'm sorry." She repeats.

"Do you have any idea what her father's gonna do to me when he sees that!" I yell at the little brat.

Amber's eyes go wide and she covers her mouth with both hands.

"It was an accident." Vega steps in front of her and pats her head reassuringly. "It's not your fault, Mamita. Don't worry about it."

"How did she even…" I start off; then it comes to me. Amber doesn't usually wake up during the middle of the night. Not on her own. Vega had to have gone in her roomand... "You tried to _sleep_ with her!" I accuse.

Vega doesn't answer, just continues to dab the wet washcloth on her eye.

"The thought of sleeping with me is that bad? You'd rather risk getting punched in the eye by one of the brats."

"I didn't know she was a wild sleeper!" she hisses.

"Well I would've told you that if you hadn't tried to sneak out!"

She glares at me and I know it's time to change tactics because I'm getting nowhere. If I'm going to get to the bottom of this stupid issue she's having then I'm gonna have to trick it out of her. Obviously she's not going to come out and tell me. She can be extremely stubborn when she wants to be.

Okay, think Jade. Think.

So her main issue is she can't sleep, even though she's super sleepy. And whatever it is she has to do in order to make herself go to sleep, she's embarrassed for me to witness it. Maybe if she thought I _was_ asleep…

"I'm sorry for snapping at you." I sigh, letting my face relax into a tired expression. "I get cranky when I'm tired."

She blinks at me, surprised by my sudden change of mood. But I can see she's still a little skeptical.

"Forgive me?" I yawn before rubbing at my eyes real quick.

She nods her head at me, still studying me quite intensely.

"Lemme see." I yawn and reach for her face. She drops the rag and I make a concerned face before kissing the bruise lightly.

Then I yawn again.

"You're tired." She states, not asks and I fight the urge to smile. That's the opening I need.

I nod my head. "Exhausted." I claim while blinking slowly.

She smiles at me. "Go back to bed, Mami. I'll meet you there soon."

"Yeah?" I yawn.

"M-hm."

She leans in and kisses me. It's a struggle for me not to return it, but it'd be hard to convince Vega that I'm as tired as I'm trying to portray if I try and deepen the kiss.

"Come on, Bugger," I say, holding out my hand to the little brat. Amber takes it immediately, but Vega stops me from taking her.

"I'll put her to bed in a second." She says.

I narrow my eyes at her.

She smiles back at me. "I promise. I won't try to sleep with her again. I'll be in soon."

I stand there blinking stupidly and yawning until she pinky promises me that she's coming back to my bed once she's done.

And by the time she _does_ come back to my bedroom, I've been fake sleeping so long I nearly _do_ fall asleep.

"Jade?" She calls softly.

I don't move.

She touches my shoulder lightly. "Jade?"

I mumble something unintelligible before burrowing down further into my bed.

She climbs in next to me.

I tilt my head upward as subtly as I can so that I can peek at her through my eyelashes. Just like before, her back is to me so I open my eyes fully and I wait. It's not long before I hear it, the sound of rustling sheets. And what's more, I see her arm moving in jerky movements. I narrow my eyes at the back of her head.

Is she _really_ diddling her duey in my bed?

Is that what she can't sleep without? Is that what she thought I'd laugh at her for?

I give a big sigh and drape my arm over her waist, wanting to know for sure if that's what she's doing. I seriously have to know.

Seriously.

She goes still immediately. But I got what I wanted. Turns out she's not touching herself. She can't be. Her hand is too high. So what the fuck _is_ she doing?

"Jade?" she whispers after a beat.

I ignore her.

"Jade? Are you awake?" She tries again. As if I'd answer _that_!

She waits just a little longer before she goes back to what she was doing.

I shift a little closer to her and move my hand up a little, brushing against her fingers.

_Oh_. It's her belly button she's molesting. And though that's weird, I can't complain. At least she's not a thumb sucker.

Vega turns over.

Shit.

"Jade?"

I don't move a muscle, and it's so hard to keep my face relaxed and my breathing deep and even. But I must succeed because she whispers, "who knew you were big on cuddling." Before going back to that thing she does with her belly button.

I'm not a freakin' cuddler. I scowl at her behind my eyelids and move to take my hand off her waist, but she catches it in her hand.

"Stay still, Mami," she sighs out sleepily, before moving my hand down lower, dangerously close to her ass. Then she continues working on herself.

I stay absolutely still until she stops fingering her belly button, instinctively knowing that she's asleep now. Then I open my eyes and look at her. It's hard to make out her face in the dark, but I can still see enough, and I can't stop myself from smiling at her. She can't go to sleep without rubbing her belly button? That's what she was afraid to tell me. That's what she thought I'd laugh at?

Then I frown as a thought comes to my head. Has she gotten teased for it already? Is that why she was so sure I'd laugh? Then it occurs to me that in order for someone to tease her, they'd have to see her do it; and in order for them to see her do it, they'd have to sleep with her.

There's this weird possessiveness that comes over me at the thought. because Vega's mine now.

_Mine_. And I don't fucking share.

I lean in and kiss her lips.

Mine.

The tip of her nose.

Mine.

Her cheeks.

Mine.

Her forehead.

Mine

Her chin.

Mine

Her neck.

Mine. Mine. Fucking all mine.

The thoughts of her being mine repeat over and over again in my head. And before I know it, I've marked her neck half a dozen times, big eye-catching marks.

_Mine. _I think satisfactorily before going to sleep.

{~~~O~~~}

I'm the first one awake, though I was the last to go to sleep.

I put a t-shirt and some shorts on real quick before approaching my bed and shaking my girlfriend.

"Vega." I hiss.

She sits up immediately. "Jade? Oh my God, why didn't you wake me up!" she squeals, jumping out of the bed like it's on fire. She snatches up her phone. "Why didn't my alarm…"

I stare at her until she gets it. We're not late.

Though I can't fault her logic. I'd be thinking the same thing if I were in her shoes.

"_Jade…_" she whines. "It's five o'clock. Why are we up?"

"Rehearsal." I answer shortly.

"Whuh?"

"We're going to rehearse Beck and your lines until you get it right."

"But"-

"I'm not watching you go on another date with him!" I snap.

She drops her head into her hands and moans. "I don't wanna. I want to sleep." She whines.

I take out my script and gesture for her to do the same thing.

She doesn't move. Well, she does, but not in the direction I want her to. She drops back onto my bed, lying flat on her back.

I get a little frustrated and grab her script for her too.

Still she doesn't move.

Ugh. We're wasting time. The sooner Vega gets this, the better. I meant what I said. I'm not watching my girlfriend go on another date with Beck. We're gonna rehearse these lines until she's fuckin' perfect. That is, if I can get her to get up.

And I have no doubt that I can.

I get in bed with her and straddle her thighs.

Her eyes open immediately and I smirk at her. "Glad to see I've finally got your attention."

"_Jade_," she whines.

"I'm Nancy. You're Walter. And we just need to go over the last scene, babe. That's where you sucked the most."

"Hey!"

"But if you get it right the first time, you can go back to sleep, catch about two more _hours'_ worth of z's." I negotiate.

That wakes her up some. She sits up, with me still sitting on her thighs, and starts reading over her lines. I raise an eyebrow at her. I thought for sure she would've pushed me off by now.

"Okay, let's do this." She mumbles after a while.

It takes quite a while, nearly two hours before I'm satisfied. She struggled the most on the "I love yous," which was a bit frustrating. How hard is it to tell someone you love them, huh? Especially someone who looks as good as I do and has been sitting in your lap for the past few hours. Why does she have to be so damn awkward about it?

"Ok, shower." I command, finally accepting that she's not gonna get any better.

"Whuh? What about my extra z's?" she pouts.

"It's seven o'clock, babe. We got an hour to get to school." I answer.

As if on cue, Joy knocks on my door. "Let's go girls! You're gonna be late," she yells through the door.

I'm surprised she didn't send one of her brats. Then again, maybe I'm not so surprised. They've seen us in one too many compromising positions already. Perhaps Joy was trying to prevent another.

"See," I smirk smugly at my girlfriend. "Shower."

She bites her lip nervously. "Um…"

"What?"

"I don't have anything to wear."

No shit.

"You can borrow something of mine." I answer with as little bite as I can muster. I mean what else is she gonna wear.

I roll my eyes when she hesitates. Jeez, just because I made her walk around with nothing but a towel once doesn't mean I'd do it again.

Sort of.

"I promise." I tell her.

She holds her pinky up and I nearly puke. Pinky promises this early in the morning should be fucking illegal. "Seriously, babe. I'll get you something to wear." I say, trying my best to avoid the inevitable.

But it _is_ inevitable. Vega keeps her pinky up, and I have no choice but to link mine with hers.

She grins the second my finger touches hers, and suddenly it's not so bad.

I shake that thought away quickly, handing her a towel so she can get started.

And as soon as she leaves my room, she runs into Joy. Obviously she was on her way to knock on my door once again.

Joy gasps when she sees Vega.

"What'd you do to her?" she asks me.

"Amber did it," Vega supplies immediately. "It was an accident though."

Joy frowns, obviously confused. Maybe the bruise under the eye, Amber did, but those marks on Vega's neck are all me. I smirk at the look on Joy's face. I know she's got to be thinking the same thing. And maybe coming to the conclusion that maybe my girlfriend has no idea what her neck looks like right now.

"What?" Vega says, starting to get suspicious.

"It's nothing, babe. Go take your shower."

She leaves slowly, still looking from me to Joy. Once she shuts the bathroom door, I wait for it. My name. She should be screaming it in 3…2…1…

"Jade!"

And that's my cue. What a beautiful sound it is.

"Yeah, babe?" I ask innocently at the door.

She snatches it open and glares at me. "How did you…_when_…Jade!" she splutters, face going crimson.

"I'll get you a turtleneck." I smirk, pecking her lips lightly.

"That's not…ugh!" she groans, slamming the door in my face.

I'd get mad about that, but right now I can't help laughing at her. When I turn around to head for my bedroom, Joy's still standing there. She rolls her eyes at me and shakes her head.

"What?" I scowl.

"Sweetie," I roll my eyes. I really hate it when Joy calls me names like sweetie and honey, but I can't get her to stop either. Trust me, I've tried. "It's too hot out for her to be wearing a turtleneck." She finishes.

"We could always play hooky for a few days," is my answer.

"_We_? She's the one with the marks, Jade."

"So?"

"You're un-freaking believable, you know that?" she mutters before walking away.

Yeah, I know, but Joy_ is_ right. It's hot out, so I grab Vega that sleeveless navy blue turtleneck that I never wear, some shorts, and random underpants. Then I head for the bathroom, which _isn't_ locked this time.

Vega doesn't seem to be too mad. No one really sings cheerful tunes when they're mad, right? Because that's what Vega's doing, singing to herself in the shower. And she's not _too _bad at it if I'm completely honest with myself.

I set her clothes down on the counter and nearly leave. But I don't. I can't seem to help myself. I want to see her. And before I can overthink it, I strip and get in with her as quickly as I can. It's not that big of a deal, right? I've seen her naked before, she's seen me naked before, we should be able to shower together and it not be a problem.

Wrong.

Vega's washing her hair, eyes closed tightly. She doesn't even know I'm here and I just…_stare._

Like I said, I've seen my girlfriend naked before, but I'm realizing that I wasn't _really_ looking before. My girlfriend's body looks a hundred times better than what I remember.

Suddenly Vega opens her eyes, and she starts to wazz out.

"Jade! What are you"-

I clamp a hand over her mouth. "Shut up!" I hiss.

She bites me. I don't know why I never remember that she does shit like that.

"Jade, you can't just"-

"What? Take a shower with my girlfriend. Don't be stupid Vega. We're running late. It'd be suspicious if we _didn't_ try to shower together. Get it together!" I hiss at her before reaching past her and grabbing the body wash out of the hanging caddy.

I begin to wash myself, completely ignoring her so that she can see there's no funny business intended. Just showers.

It works. She relaxes soon enough and finishes her hair.

Naturally, she's the first one out. I can't hear her get dress over the water, but I imagine she's done when I hear the blow dryer start up.

"Vega!" I yell, suddenly remembering that I didn't bring in anything to wear since my shower with her was a spur of the moment deal.

"Yeah?"

"Bring me something to wear!" I order.

"Please?"

"Please." I parrot with a roll of my eyes.

By the time she comes back, I'm wrapped in a towel. I don't wait for her to start blow-drying her hair again before I slip on my underwear, the action causing my towel to split open just for a few seconds.

"Jade?"

"What?"

"What was that?"

I look up at my girlfriend and she's pointing at me, but down low, towards my duey. I just give her an eyebrow because I need her to be just a _little_ bit more specific

"Where'd you get it?" she persists...without those specifics that I mentioned needing.

I still don't know what the fuck she's talking about, but I answer anyway.

"My Vagina? I was born with it, Vega."

"No." she opens my towel a little and points at the bruise on my hip. "This." She says, reaching out to touch it.

Oh God, I nearly moan.

Get it together Jade. Snap at her!

"I got it yesterday when _somebody_ fell into a narcoleptic sleep and dropped me." I glare at her as if I'm just now remembering to be wazzed off about it. But I'm not really. It doesn't hurt anymore.

"_I _did that?" she gasps. The horror on her face is so genuine that I can't even bring myself to make her feel any worse.

"It's no big deal," I shrug.

She bends over, and before I can ask her what the fuck she's doing, she places a soft kiss on my bruised hip.

Fuck!

Oh God, get her from down there, Jade! Now!

"You know, that doesn't make it any better." I say as dispassionately as I can, hoping to make her angry.

But she doesn't play along. If anything, she looks even sadder.

She rises up and looks me dead in the eyes. "I know. But I'm still really sorry, Jade."

God, all the puppy looks are fucking killing me. I seriously can't take it.

"I know, but it was an accident, unlike these…" I trail off, touching her neck where I've marked her half a dozen times. If I could just get a bit of anger to flare up in her, it'll make me feel that much better.

"You could still try to make them feel better, you know," she snaps back at me.

_There's_ a little bit of that fire I'd been wanting; but then Vega's eyes widen, like she can't believe she just said that. I think back to what it was, something about me trying to make her hurts feel better too…

"You want me to kiss your neck?" I grin.

She shifts a little uncomfortably, so before she can change her mind, I lower my head and gently press my lips to her neck.

"Better?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "Maybe you should try it again."

I expect her to look away, embarrassed but she holds her ground and stares me down. She really wants it.

I oblige immediately.

Vega doesn't seem to be as aware of me in a physical sense as I am of her. A perfect example of that is just this morning, I was sitting in her lap, and all she could think about was how sleepy she was. If it had been reversed, I would've been shifting uncomfortably the whole time, trying my best to keep my bottoms dry.

Now that she's seemed to notice me _that way_, there's no way I'm going to waste this opportunity to make an impression on her.

I lean in again, brushing my lips over one of the most prominent marks. I kiss it softly, reverently, as if I'm really trying to make it feel better, though I'm sure it doesn't hurt.

Vega tilts her head a little, offering more of herself for me to take, and I don't hesitate. I kiss all the marks, every inch of her neck. She's whimpering now. It's a good sound, one that spurs me on because it lets me know that she likes what I'm doing.

But I want her to get louder. I dart my tongue out, tasting her. She grips my shoulder and whispers my name.

I smirk. She _really_ likes that. That's good to know.

I pull back. "All better now?" I tease; which could be easily translated into "do you want me to stop."

She shakes her head. "No."

I dip back in and press my teeth to her neck, skimming over the soft skin.

"Jade?" Vega gasps. "Don't bite."

I kiss my way up her neck, to her ear. "I know, baby." I whisper. She shudders and I smile before taking her earlobe in between my teeth.

_No biting Jade._

God bitch, Do you fucking mind?

But as irritating and intrusive as Tori is, I still listen to her because she's right. Vega doesn't like being bitten. So I suck on her earlobe instead.

She makes the funniest little sound in her throat, this squeak/swallow… _thing_.

I like it. I wanna hear it again.

But she turns her head abruptly, catching me off guard and clamps on to my top lip with the very tip of her teeth and tugs gently.

Something inside of me clenches, and not my gut. Something much lower; and my knees, they're fucking starting to go weak like one of those pathetic damsels in distress. I have to sit down. Now, or I'm gonna fall flat on my ass because I just don't feel steady enough to keep upright on my own right now.

I push Vega roughly, shoving her onto the toilet seat.

"Thank God the lids down." She murmurs, not missing a beat and never letting go of me so I get pulled down into her lap.

Then she's back to kissing me.

I suddenly realize that she's in more control of the situation than I am now, and though this isn't a contest, I feel the need to win, to be the one in control.

I push my tongue into her mouth, needing her to submit to me some kind of way, but she catches it! Between her teeth, she just clamps down, gently enough not to hurt me, and then pushes it back with her own tongue.

Whoa daddy. How the fuck…

Oh, God, I'm suddenly distracted by all the other interesting things she can do with her tongue….and her lips…and her teeth…

Then all of a sudden she's gone. She's detached her lips from mine. I make to protest, but the only thing that happens is I draw in a deep lungful of air.

I'd forgotten to breathe while she was kissing me; that I _need _to breathe.

But Vega doesn't seem to. She's already latched her lips on to my neck. I'm still panting, trying to catch my breath back, so the first nip catches me by complete surprise. I jump and let out this embarrassing high pitched noise.

"Too hard, mami?"

I shake my head. "Again," I gasp.

She does it again.

"Harder." I moan

She pulls back from me. Eyes hard with want and I fucking do it. I wet my flimsy bottoms. I feel my towel drop. I'm not surprised I didn't lose it before. I'd been pressed so tightly to Vega that there was no way _to_ lose it.

Then her hands are on my ass, but only for a second. She's slowly caressing her way up to my hips. I moan loudly because that feels so fucking good.

"Shh Mami." She kisses my lips quickly before going back to my neck.

I don't think she realizes that I don't care if all of L.A. hears me. But I try my best to keep quiet, she might stop if I don't.

And I don't want her to stop.

Her hands go back to my ass and she pulls me closer to her before pushing herself up against me.

Jeez-the-fuck-us! I completely lose it. I need the rest of my clothes off, all of her clothes off, and I need her inside me. Now.

Suddenly the door's snatched open. "Guys, I gotta wazz, really bad."

Seriously? Fucking Amber. Can't she see that I'm…?

Wait, what _am _I doing? I blink and come to my senses.

Oh God. I can't believe I was gonna….that me and Vega were…Shit! I'm supposed to be saving myself for somebody special, not giving my virginity to Vega!


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's note: **If any of you can't review this chapter, it's because I deleted chapter 8 and the system thinks you've already reviewed. If you want, you can just review as a guest:)

{~~~~TORI~~~~}

I… am so… freakin' _gay_.

I just…I don't know what came over me. One second I'm wazzing out because I bruised Jade's hip, and the next, she's in my lap, my tongue is shoved down her throat, I'm snatching her towel off and… and… oh, God I can't even think about it.

_Whaddo I do. Whaddo I do. Whaddo I do…._

"_Guys_…" Amber whines.

Right. She has to wazz. First step, get out of the bathroom, Tori.

I make to get up, but then I realize Jade's still in my lap. And what's more, she's _slowly _wrapping the towel around herself.

Un-freaking-believable. I mean, I get it. She's the super calm and collected one of the two of us and being caught nearly naked with her girlfriend, _by her little sister,_ is no big deal to her; but still, the girls have_ really_ got to stop walking in on us. If not, they'll need so much therapy by the time they're our age.

I turn and address Amber. "Mamita, next time maybe you should knock-"

"I will, I will. Les prometo." she cuts me off with a whine while urgently hopping up and down.

I grin back at her. She remembered how to say she promises. And she pronounced it perfectly. I'm so proud of-whoa! And she's yanking down her shorts. She must _really_ gotta go; and _that's_ my cue to get out.

I grab my girlfriend, (who's _still _taking her precious time by the way), around the waist and lift her up. It's kinda tricky because she _still _hasn't secured her towel yet, so I'm trying to hold _that_ in place as well.

"Don't drop me." She hisses.

I roll my eyes and hiss back. "I won't."

"You do it often enough." She glares at me; instantly making me feel guilty. I actually _do _drop her a lot; like every time I have her in my arms. But I don't mean to. Something always happens to startle me and I just…do.

Except for this time. We make it to her room with no problem and I set her down before telling her to hurry up or we'll be late for school.

"Don't tell me what to do!" She snaps back immediately.

I roll my eyes. "Well will you_ please_ hurry up?" I answer sarcastically.

She glares at me.

"What?" I ask, my eyes widening just a little to paint a picture of innocence even though I know I was totally being a sabelotodo. But it's not as if I ever really boss her around. And I'm not bossing her now. I'm just stating a fact. If she doesn't hurry up, we _will_ be late for school. And _I _have a perfect attendance to maintain. She _knows_ that. Everyone knows that. Even Trina knows it and she doesn't even know my birthday.

"Just go on without me." She answers, turning away from me and heading for her closet.

I blink at her back. Go without her? I can't. I'm her ride unless… "You're skipping school?"

"No."

"Joy's bringing you?"

"No."

I bite my bottom lip as uneasiness starts to settle into the pits of my stomach. If she's not skipping, and Joy's not bringing her, then that means she's either taking the bus or Taxi. Which also means, she must _really _not want to be anywhere near me.

And I can't blame her. Not when I think about what almost happened in the bathroom just a few minutes ago. I took my pretend girlfriend duties a little too far this time. Just a few more seconds and I would've…God, I really can't think about it. What was I thinking?! Not that I _actually was _thinking!

And it's not like I can apologize for it because if I do Jade will scream at me, probably even hit me. She's done it before. And she was right then and she'd be right now. I can't go around apologizing for making out with my girlfriend, or almost getting in her pants. That's a sure way to let people know we're just pretending.

"Earth to Vega."

I blink rapidly; just now realizing Jade's no longer in front of her closet. She's snapping her fingers in front of my face…and she's still in her towel.

I try my best to keep my eyes on her face, but it's really, _really _hard.

_So gay._

I'm not gay! I scowl…at myself. Jeez I'm really losing it. I gotta get outta here.

"Um, I'll see you at school." I answer Jade distractedly while trying to keep my eyes on her body. No! Her face. Keep my eyes on her face! Ugh! What the heck is wrong with me?!

Jade narrows her eyes at me.

Oh man, I must be doing something really wrong. Definitely gotta get outta here.

"Um, bye." I spit out. Then I practically run out of her room and down the stairs before she could chew me out for doing…whatever that wrong thing was that I had been doing.

"Where's Jade?" Joy stops me and hands me a banana as I try to rush out of the house. She's so the opposite of my mother when it comes to this kind of stuff. My mom never makes sure I eat breakfast.

I thank Joy before telling her that Jade said she'll be down later.

"Seriously? I'm already starting to regret giving her keys back," Joy shakes her head.

_Oh_, her keys. I breathe a huge sigh of relief. Jade got her car back. That's why she doesn't need a ride to school! That makes perfect sense! Maybe she's not completely wazzed off at me for nearly getting into her pants this morning!

"God, I hope she remembers to pick the girls up from school today." Joy cuts into my thoughts.

It's Thursday, so I already know to pick the girls up. I've been doing it for a while now. It was only supposed to be three weeks while Jade was in detention, but she pulled the fire alarm and got herself another few weeks added on.

"I'll remind her." I tell Joy.

She smiles at me, full of relief. "Thank you, honey."

"It's nothing." I wave dismissively. I nearly leave, but then I remember the girls. I never leave without saying goodbye to them. Thank God they're in the kitchen putting away their dishes rather than upstairs where I'd have to face Jade again.

"Riley, Amber, I gotta go. Denme abrazos." I announce.

Weirdly, only Riley rushes up to give me a hug. "We're still going to your house after school today right?" she looks up at me with the cutest, most un-Riley-like, pouty face I've ever seen; and for a second I wonder if she's pretending to be Amber.

Nah. That'd be a waste of her time. She knows I can tell them apart. So I just answer her question.

"Well. Um, since Jade has her car back"-

"Please." She begs.

I smile down at her. Truth is, I wouldn't mind having the girls come over today. I need a distraction, and I mean _anything _that can help me not think about Jade, without her towel, is welcomed. The girls are as good as a diversion as any. Probably the best one I could possibly get. I mean, when I have them, they take up _all_ of my time and energy; which means, I won't have time to sit and think about Jade and how I messed up, or how I wish I would've just messed up a little more by going just a little further-no, no, no, _no_.! Stop thinking about that, perv!

"Please." Riley begs again, drawing my attention back to her by squeezing me briefly.

"Riley, stop imposing." Joy jumps in, probably trying to save me, but I _really _don't need saving. I _need_ that distraction. Just for today. Just so I can get myself under control.

"Oh it's no problem, Joy. They wouldn't be imposing." I flash my most trustworthy smile her way.

"Really?"

"Yeah. They're not so bad."

"Really?" she repeats, dipping her brows skeptically. Then she looks between her girls as if to ask me if I'm sure I'm talking about the kids here in front of me.

I nod my head enthusiastically. "Yeah, I can handle 'em pretty easily. We kinda have a routine when they come over. I get them a snack, they do their homework- oh, except if my dad's home. He likes to shoot a few hoops with them before he leaves for work."

I smile at the thought. Naturally, Riley's better, but my dad likes giving Amber pointers. I think it makes him feel proud every time she gets better, because honestly she_ has_ improved. A lot.

I think he misses doing that with me and Trina.

In fact, last night he bought the girls' favorite chips because he knew they'd be over today. He'd be so disappointed if they don't show up, so that's another reason the girls should come over. Actually, now that I think about it, they should probably just keep coming over on Thursdays period. Make it a regular event…tradition…_ thing_.

"Well, if you're sure…" Joy trails off.

"Um, actually…" I do a little trailing of my own.

"Yeah?"

"I know Jade got her car back, but do you mind if they come over every Thursday anyway? It's kinda our special time."

"Would I…of course I don't mind!"

"Really?" I grin. What a relief. I had no idea she'd go for it so quickly.

"Can we spend the night too?" Riley pipes up.

"Riley, honey," Joy shakes her head. "It's a school night and I don't know if"-

"It'd be no problem to get them to school in the morning." I cut in immediately, and without thinking. But since it's already out there… "Do they have a bedtime or something?"

Joy gapes at me.

Okay, maybe I went a little too far. Just because she let me take them places doesn't mean she trusts me to care for them for a whole-

"Oh my God, I just love you!" Joy practically screams while pulling me into a very tight hug. Like, I just might die if she doesn't let go of me soon. When she _finally_ lets go, she announces that she's gonna pack their stuff before running upstairs to do just that I guess.

I look over at Riley and raise my eyebrows.

She shrugs her shoulders, unable to offer up any explanation for her mother's behavior.

"Okay, denme abrazos. Again."

Again, Riley's the first to hug me. And again, Amber hangs back. Not only does she hang back, but I actually have to coax her into hugging me; and even when she _does _hug me, she barely squeezes back. Not to mention the fact that she keeps glancing at Riley uneasily.

What the heck is going on with her? She's been acting so strange for the last few days.

I'm tempted to ask her about it right now, but I'll be late to school. And besides, she's spending the night at my place. I have all night to get it out of her.

"Bye Tori." She smiles at me. I smile back, thinking to myself,_ Just you wait little girl. I'm gonna weasel it out of ya; _before finally leaving.

When I step outside, I instantly get mad at Jade all over again. Because of her, I have to wear a turtle neck and it's soooo hot out here. It only takes me a few seconds to get to my car, literally, and I'm already starting to sweat. _That's_ how hot it is.

Thank God I have AC in my car, but it only does me good for twenty minutes because now I'm at school, and I have to get _out _of my car.

I talk myself into it. Literally. For nearly five minutes I just sit here and say to myself, "Tori, you can do it." "It's just a two minute walk." "Not even that if you make it fast."

Despite the pep talk, I'm nearly crawling into the building by the time those two minutes are up, and that was just from the effort it took to walk across the parking lot!

"Icky!"

_No, no, no, no, no. _

I am _not _in the mood to deal with Melissa right now. But I turn around anyway, and as soon as I do she puts her hand over her mouth and gasps. "Oh God, girl what happened to your face? Did Jade do that?"

See? Totally not something you wanna deal with when you're already agitated about being soaked in sweat.

I roll my eyes. "Jade would never hit me, Lissa." I lie.

She raises her eyebrows disbelievingly, but otherwise waits for me to explain. So, I continue. "It was an accident, and her little sister did it."

"How did"-

"I spent the night at Jade's but I tried to sleep with one of her sisters. I didn't know she's a wild sleeper and I got hit in the face. End of story." I cut her off.

She gives me a confused frown. "Why'd you try to sleep with her sister? I thought you two made up?"

Okay, maybe her definition of "end of the story" is different from…everyone else's in the world.

"We _did_ make up. It's just that I was tired and Jade wasn't and I wanted," I pause there trying to think of something else to say rather than tell her I wanted to rub my belly button. I'm not exactly in the mood to be laughed at.

"You wanted?" she prompts.

"To get some peace." I go with. Then I make a bee line for my locker.

"_Oh_…" she says loudly.

I look behind me and she winks knowingly at me.

"What?" I stop at my locker and narrow my eyes at her.

"Nothing." She says. Then she waits for me to put my stuff away before taking my arm and leading me in the _opposite _direction of our first period class.

What the heck?

"Where are we going?"

"Black Box Theater. No first period today." She answers with a smile.

Oh, that makes sense. Wait a minute…"What's in The Blackbox Theater?"

Melissa doesn't answer; just starts fixing my hair and wiping sweat from my face. It makes me suspicious and a bit antsy.

"What's going on in The Blackbox Theater?" I start to freak. Oh God, what if we're doing a live dress rehearsal for the play. I'm nowhere near ready!

"It's nothing. Just an audition." She assures me.

"Oh, Ok." I sigh in relief. Wait…audition? "An audition for what?" I start freaking again.

"For a TV show called "The Wood." She answers me calmly as if it would soothe me.

It doesn't.

"I can't audition looking like this!"

"Sure you can. You look, um, great."

"No." I shake my head. "Nuh-un. No way."

"Come on Icky. It'll be fun."

I try to walk away, but she grabs my arm and pulls me toward the back of the line. Dang, she's strong.

I wait in line for all of fifteen minutes before I decide I_ really_ can't do this. I try sneaking out from behind Melissa, but somehow she seems to know what I'm about to do and she yanks me in front of her, making me accidently bump into the guy in front of me.

"Oops sorry," I start off, but then he turns to face me and I realize he's Beck.

My first response is to smile at him; but he's glaring at me and then I remember what happened last night. Jade told him that she cheated on him with me.

He looks at my clothes, probably recognizing them as Jade's, which also means he's come to the correct conclusion that I spent the night at her place last night.

Jammit!

He rolls his eyes. "Really?"

"What?" I squeak.

"I bought that shirt for Jade. She obviously wanted to make sure I saw it on you."

Ouch. Seriously? That was smart of her. Not to mention hurtful.

"Jade do that?" He points at my eye. I start to tell him she didn't when he cuts me off with a, "Good, 'cause you deserve it."

I realize he's got every right to be angry with me. But to say someone deserves a black eye is just…mean.

"Amber did it." I glare at him

He snorts at me. "You woulda been better off saying Riley did it," then he turns back around to face the front of the line.

I turn back to see if Melissa caught all that. She did, and she's giving me an amused smile.

This is not amusing.

"Trade me." I beg.

"No."

"Why not?" I hiss.

"Because I'm way hotter than you right now. If I go before you…" she shakes her head. "You should go before me."

"Lissa!"

"Icky!"

"Please!" I beg.

"Fine, but I warned you."

And she did. She goes right after Beck, who's just plan ole good eye candy for the teens out there, plus he's single now….

Then there's Melissa. She goes and sits on that stool in front of the camera and there's no doubt they're gonna pick her. The producers love her. She's gorgeous, flawless, witty, and gorgeous. If I was gay I'd totally have a crush on her.

"Next!"

Crap, that's me. I was supposed to sneak out of line during Melissa's audition. Maybe I still can.

"Icky!"

I jump, she's right beside me, and I get this feeling she knew I was gonna try and bail. Dang it!

I sigh heavily and walk up to the stool dejectedly. I know I look like crap. I'm all sweaty 'cause of this stupid turtleneck and there's a bruise under my eye and- you know what. I don't even care. I'm not even gonna try.

I plop down on the stool and face the camera.

"And your name?" one of the producers, the white one, smiles at me.

"Tori Vega." I answer shortly.

"Alright, and what's the worst thing you've ever done Tori Vega?" The other, the black one, asks.

I think about it for a second before going with the truth 'cause I don't wanna be on the show anyway. "I don't really do a lot of bad things." I shrug.

Out of nowhere, I see Melissa sidle up to the producers and whisper something to them. I narrow my eyes suspiciously. This can't be good.

"So, Tori, how'd you get that bruise under your eye?"

I roll my eyes. "I tried to sleep with my girlfriend's sister last night and I got hit in the eye…." I trail off when black producer guy starts writing something down and white producer guy starts whispering to the assistant lady.

I'm getting a bad feeling about this.

Then White Producer looks up at me. "Your girlfriend, huh? And who might that be?"

None of your dang business is on the tip of my tongue, but then Melissa speaks up on my behalf. "Jade West, one of the most popular girls in school."

"Well, that must make you pretty popular too, huh Tori?"

I shrug. "Not really. I'm kinda new here."

"New? And you managed to snag "one of the most popular girls in the school?"" he air quotes.

I shrug again.

"So you mean to tell me, one of the most popular girls in the school (God I wish he's stop freakin' saying that!) was single until you came along?"

I frown. "Well, no. She uh"-

"So you stole her from some other girl." Black Producer jumps in.

"Guy." Melissa puts in

"Really, so how'd he take the break up?"

Everyone's waiting for my answer. I can tell by the huge silence that falls upon the Theater; that is until someone clears his throat loudly.

Beck. His audition's over, but he's still here for some reason.

"Tori?" White Producer prompts. "How'd Jade's ex take the break up?"

"I um…" I glance at Beck, not sure how to answer because of the way he's staring at me.

The producers see who I was looking at and they're really quick to catch on. "Beck Oliver? You were able to steal _his _girl?" they gasp.

Dang it!

"I um…well you see I didn't uh…I just um…I gotta wazz." I hurry up and run out of there as fast as I can. And I run all the way to the bathroom farthest away from the Blackbox Theater, throwing myself into the first stall.

I don't think I can take this bull poopy anymore. It was okay at first, me dating Jade to make Danny jealous, and her dating me to get Beck to realize how much he loves her; but now cheating's been added on and it makes me look really bad.

God, I wish I was more like Jade. She seems to genuinely not care what other people think about her. And I really, _really_, admire that about her. But I'm just not like that!

"Icky!"

Jammit! How the helicopter did she find me?!

"Come out or I'm coming in," she warns after knocking on my stall.

I ignore her.

"Seriously, if I have to crawl on this dirty ass floor to get in there, I'm gonna make sure you regret making me do it."

"Or you can leave me alone." I finally answer. For some reason, I really believe she'd crawl under the stall door.

"You know, I really wish I could because there are about a gazillion other things I'd rather be doing other than having girl talk in the bathroom; but we're friends and according to the rules I have to check on you when you have a major breakdown in front of a lot of people and run to the girls bathroom. It's like, in the bible or something."

Despite feeling like crap, I actually laugh and open the door. "Come in."

"Seriously?" she asks, the left corner of her lip rising in disgust.

"I'm not ready to go out there yet."

She rolls her eyes and comes inside.

I sit back down on the seat and she plops down sideways, and heavily, onto my lap.

Okay, ouch.

"Hey!" I protest.

"I'm not sitting on the floor and I'm not standing." She explains. "The sooner this godforsaken talk is over with the sooner your legs get to breathe, capisce?"

No. No capiscing.

"What kind of a friend is that? You're supposed to listen to me no matter how long I talk!" I shoot back.

"And I will, just know that the longer you talk the more your legs are gonna hurt when you get up."

I roll my eyes at her. She's most normal female friend I have, yet she's still so…ugh!

"Alright," she says, swinging her legs back and forth, which actually kinda hurts my thighs. "Let's get this over with. Talk to me. Why are we in the girl's bathroom?"

I scowl at her. We're in the girls' bathroom because of her.

"What?" she asks innocently.

"Why'd you do that? Egg the producers on like that? You're supposed to be my friend. Couldn't you tell I was getting uncomfortable?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I could tell you were getting uncomfortable."

"So why did you keep making it worse?"

"You want the truth?"

"No, lie to me." I cross my arms over my chest.

"It's simple really." She shrugs. "You're my friend. I want you on the show with me. But, they weren't gonna feature you if you didn't give them something _to _feature, and _you _Icky, you're just so damn boring.

"I am not."

"It's okay, I still love ya." She pats my head.

"I'm not boring!" I insist.

She rolls her eyes and sighs out a, "What are you doing after school today?"

"I'm gonna pick the twins up from school and if no one's home I'll get them something to snack on while they do their homework but if"-

"See? You're practically a mom. And why the heck are Jade's sister's going to your house after school. Why not Jade?"

I keep my mouth shut. There's no way I'm gonna tell her that I need a teeny weeny break from Jade because I nearly took her goodies this morning and I don't trust myself to be alone around her right now.

"Oh, now you_ have_ to tell me." She grins at me.

"What?"

"Your face. It's _so_ telling on you right now."

"Shut up." I mumble, 'cause she's right. My face_ has _heated up a bit. I can feel it.

"Nuh-uh, you have to tell me. We're friends. That's what girlfriends do. They gossip about each other's love lives."

"There's nothing to tell." I lie.

"Come on," she begs. "This is like the only non-boring thing about you."

Seriously? "You know, I'm feeling a lot better Lissa. You can get off of me now."

She tilts her head a little and regards me for a few seconds before hopping out of my lap. "Yeah, you look a_ lot_ better." She winks conspiringly.

"Shut up!" I shove her playfully. And she just gives me a wicked grin before unlocking the stall.

"Melissa" she turns a little. "Thanks." I smile.

"De nada."

I smile some more. I really do feel better. She's such a good friend to me.

_Too bad you're not that good of a friend to her._

Okay, that thought just came out of_ nowhere_. But it's not completely meritless. I don't like Melissa going out with Danny. Before, it was okay because I didn't know her I guess, but lately it's been bothering me. If I was a good friend I would've tried to warn her about her boyfriend by now, right?

"Lissa? Um, could you wait a second?" I call without thinking it over, before I can lose my nerve.

She stops at the door and faces me, her face crumpled in fake agony. "Oh no. I thought we got it all." She whines.

She's joking, but I'm not.

"It's um, it's not about me this time." I shift uncomfortably.

"Okay." She shuts the door back and stares me straight in the eyes.

Yikes! I don't know if I'll be able to do this.

_But you have to._

But I have to. Right. I square my shoulders and try my best to meet her gaze without wavering. "We're really friends, right?" I start off.

"Yeah." she answers simply, but I see the way her eyes are roaming over me. They drop down to my hands where I keep wringing my thumb, then down to my feet, where I keep shifting from right foot to left restlessly, then back up to my throat where she can probably visibly see that I've gulped about seven times, and then up more to my face, where it's probably just an all-out mess of nerves.

She narrows her eyes at me. She can tell that what I have to say won't be pleasant.

_So just say it!_

Okay, okay. Here goes.

"Um, you know how they say…" No that's not the right way to start off. "Um, that saying don't uh…." No, that's even worse than the first-

"Spit it out Icky, you're freaking me out here!"

I jump a little, startled by her sudden outburst.

"Oh for Pete's sake!" she walks up to me, snatches my hand up and leads me back to my stall. Then she shoves me onto the toilet seat and plops down onto my lap.

"Ow."

"Talk." She commands.

Okay. I can do this. I take a deep breath and collect my thoughts. When I finally speak, it actually turns out to be a pretty good start. "How does Danny treat you?"

She tilts her head a little, like she's thinking about it before her eyebrows dip in suspicion. "Why do you ask?"

Dang it! That's not where I wanted that to go. So, I answer her question the best I can. "I was just wondering…. just wanted to make sure that's he's good to you…you now, 'cause we're friends and that's what friends do." I try to joke, but it doesn't sound very much like a joke.

Jeez I suck at this.

"Wasn't he good to you?" She counters.

"Um." Crap. I look down at my feet guiltily. Why did I even say anything? I don't want to tell her what happened. I don't like to talk about it. I don't even like to think about it. It was bad enough the first time around. So I try and deflect her question. "Lissa, I'm not trying to be a problem I just"-

"You _just _didn't answer my question." She cuts me off.

Dang it, she's good. And she sounds wazzed off. I don't even remember what her dang question was, plus she's making me so nervous that I really gotta wazz now.

I start squirming a little and bouncing my leg.

"You can wazz as soon as you answer my question." She says. Jeez do I really wear everything on my face the way she said I do?

"I said, was he good to you?" She continues.

God that's direct.

I jiggle my leg a bit more urgently as I try to think of how to answer that. "Um, he was um…uh…we um…."

"Look, if I promise not to shoot the messenger, will you tell me?" she softens a little.

I nod my head and hold my pinky out. Unlike Jade, she takes it immediately. I have to smile. Jade would've told me how dumb it was first.

"Danny, cheated on me." I sigh. It's not all that happened, but I can't talk about that other stuff. Plus he said he wasn't the one who started that rumor about me. And I don't know if he was lying or telling the truth, but just in case he was telling the truth, I don't feel obligated to tell Melissa about it. Maybe him being a cheater will be enough.

"See? That wasn't so hard." she says with a smile that doesn't reach her eyes.

Uh-oh. She's mad.

She gets out of my lap and reaches for the lock on the stall. I feel like she's mad at me, and I really don't want her to be. I grab her arm.

"Where are you going?" I ask, slightly panicked.

"Please don't tell me you still need to do more talking Icky, aren't your legs numb?" she smiles. This time her smile goes all the way up to her eyes and I know it's not me she's angry with.

I smile back, full of relief. We're still friends.

"Well, if you need to talk Lissa, I can always sit in your lap for a few." I offer.

"I'm good, thanks Icky," she says, then she gives me a hug. A serious one, so I know it's a genuine 'thank you.' "I might take you up on that offer later though."

I smile, "I'll be here." I promise her.

I think me and Lissa just might become the best of friends. God knows I need that. I have no one to talk to when I'm having issues. No one normal at least.

"Okay, you can wazz now." She says as she lets me go. "Meet ya in fourth period."

"Okay." I grin back.

I go to do just that, but like magic, my wazz is gone, so I just hurry out of the bathroom and try to make it to class.

As soon as I step out of the bathroom, this freak in a patriotic colored suit throws something at my face.

"It's the flour bomber!" someone yells.

And yup. That's flour…all over my face.

I turn around and go back into the girls' bathroom. I just might stay in here until fourth period. No, no. I think I'm gonna stay in here until schools over 'cause it's just not Tori Vega's day. It really isn't.

Wait, my perfect attendance! I can't stay in here!

I hurry up and clean the flour off of me the best I can, which isn't really that good honestly, and head for class.

Bam! Flour bombed…again! What are the freakin' chances?

That's it. I give up. No class for Tori Vega today. No perfect attendance.

I should just make myself comfortable in my stall and wait for school to be over.

I clean myself up…again. And I do just that.

Melissa comes and finds me after a while though. She drags me out by my hand claiming that I missed fourth period, and that it's lunch time and that I have to eat.

I believe her. I'm freaking starving.

Surprisingly she sits down at the table with me, André, Cat, Robbie…and Rex. She usually doesn't sit with us. She usually drives off somewhere, but I think nothing of it. She's probably making sure I actually stay out of the bathroom.

My stomach growls and I look down at it.

Usually, I share lunch with Jade, but she hasn't shown up yet. I tried calling her while I was in the bathroom, but I couldn't. My phone's dead. I didn't charge it last night.

My stomach growls again, louder this time. Thank God no one heard it either time. They're all looking at Sinjin a bit wistfully. Which is totally weird in itself, but André set up a kiddie pool and is charging everyone five dollars for five minutes. Sinjin's the only one brave enough to do it so far, but I'm awfully tempted to get in in just my bra and panties. Yeah, it's that hot.

In fact, I just might wear a swim suit underneath my clothes tomorrow so I _can_ get in.

Then I realize I have an opportunity to eat a little something. And while Melissa's looking at Sinjin, I grab a few fries off her plate.

Because I'm not as smooth as I think I am, she catches me.

I brace myself, waiting for her to tell me to get my own, but that doesn't happen. She just divvies up her whole plate, pushing half the fries to one side and cutting her burger in half as well.

"This side is yours." She tells me.

I don't argue with her. I just dive right in. All I had for breakfast this morning was a banana. Though they're better than nothing at all, those things are not fulfilling in the least.

"Damn."

I look over at Melissa, wondering what she's damning about.

"I'm not even gay, but damn."

What?

Then I look at what she's looking at. Jade. And she's right. Damn.

I'm so lucky I don't have a boy part, 'cause I'd be highly embarrassed right now. Jade looks….damn. Don't get me wrong, Jade looks good every day, but today, that black top is, well formfitting is an understatement. Like, there's an abundance of cleavage spilling out the top, and lower, the shirt tucks in at her waist, which appears extra small because of the size of her boobs. And that skirt, it looks super tight the way it clings to her hips and thighs. Honestly, she shouldn't be able to move, but she can. _Man _can she move. There's a little extra sexy to her walk and I suddenly have the urge to see from behind because I know Jade has a nice-

Crap! I'm so gay.

Next thing I know, my view is being blocked by the freaking producers of "The Wood" and Lane.

I glare at them. Can't they see I'm ogling my girlfriend?

"Melissa, Tori, André, you're going to be featured in the wood." White producer, Kyle, says.

"Yes!" Melissa exclaims beside me.

I forgot all about the show.

"You can thank me later." Melissa winks.

I glare at her. No, I won't be thanking her at all.

"Or you can thank me now." She persists.

"What show?" Jade cuts in, sitting down next to me. I see Black producer, (still don't know his name) frown at me.

What?

"Had you come to school on time Jade"- Lane starts off, but then he gets cut off by Kyle.

"Wait, Jade? Tori's girlfriend?"

Jade glares at him.

"Don't worry, you'll be featured as well." He smiles before pulling me away. I don't want to go with him, but I do it anyway.

We walk over to my car and he sets the camera up. Yeah, I get a camera plopped onto my dashboard.

By the time I go back, lunch is over. Which I'm okay with. I'm not hungry anymore. I ate most of Melissa's fries.

What I'm _not_ okay with, is the fact that Jade ignores me all day. Well, I'm not surprised. She's a bit upset over missing the audition …and probably that thing that happened this morning; but that doesn't mean I have to be okay with it.

She's all walking around looking like….like _that_; and she's supposed to be _my_ girlfriend. She's supposed to dress up for_ me_. But she's not even talking to me! Which probably means she's dressed up for someone else, someone like Beck. She's probably trying to make him jealous.

_Okay, Tori calm down. She's supposed to be making Beck jealous idiota._

I take a breath and it helps a little, but not much. I still wish Jade would talk to me. Schools over and I've barely seen her. I miss her, and it hasn't even been a full day.

Jeez, that's so pathetic.

I shake my head at myself before getting in my car. Before driving off, I plug my phone in. Like I said, it's been dead all day.

I've got quite a few messages and ten missed calls, six of them from Jade!

Holy crap! Jade called me six times and I didn't answer her. And it clicks. _Maybe _I'm being punished for not answering her calls. Maybe she's ignoring me because she thinks I've been ignoring her.

I get excited, a huge smile lighting up my face because I know I can fix this. I just have to call and explain.

No answer.

Okay, so she's still mad at me and is still ignoring me. Of course she's not going to answer my call. So I text her:

**Me: **I'm sorry I missed your calls. My phone's been dead all day.

No answer. I pull off, because I wasn't expecting an answer immediately. She could be busy. It's Thursday so she has to pick up-Oh crap the twins. I forgot to tell her that _I'm _picking them up.

**Me: **Oh, and don't worry about the twins. I'm picking them up today.

She text back immediately.

**Jade: **Why?

I frown. That was fast. Why didn't she text back so fast before?

**Me: **They're staying over.

**Jade: **Why?

Seriously?

**Me: **They wanted to. Why not?

She doesn't text back after that. I send her about five more but she ignores them all.

Ni modo.

I've still got plenty other things to think about. Like how to convince my parents to let a camera crew practically live in our house for the next week. Instinctively, I know it's better to ask my mom. I'll have better luck with her. But still, wording is crucial by means of getting the answer I want.

I think the best route to go is a simple one, Suck up and beg.

I dial her number and hold my breath until she answers.

"Hey Mami." I grin into my phone, (like she can see it.)

"What do you want?"

I pout a little. "What makes you think I want something?"

"You _always _call me Mami when you want something."

"I do not."

"So there's nothing you need, Tori? Nothing at all?"

"Maybe not."

"Okay, nice to talk to ya. bye"-

"Okay, yes. I need you"-

"I knew it!" she exclaims. And I can just imagine her grinning triumphantly on the other end.

"Yes, Mami. You know me so well 'cause you're such a good mother." I suck up so more.

"Oh, spit it out, baby. I don't have all day."

"Okay, I need you to come home so the camera men can come in and"-

"Camera men? Tori!"

"Please Mami?" I beg. "It's for this show called "The Wood," and since I'm a minor I have to have your permission for them to come in and film me. Please, please, _please_."

"And I should take time out of my busy day to cater to you because…."

I grin. That's an easy one. "Because you love me." I answer confidently.

"Oh fine, I'm home anyway…"

"Hey!"

"Love you, baby."

"I love you too." I grumble halfheartedly while pulling up to the child pick up.

The woman with the clipboard still checks my ID as if it's changed from last Thursday; or the Thursday before that, or the Thursday before that. Jeez, there's a such thing as taking your job a little too seriously. But I try my best not to glare at her while she holds the girls back from getting in my car. I don't want her to make it even more complicated for me. Something tells me she would.

"How was school today?" I ask the girls through my window, stilling waiting for the woman with the clipboard to give them the okay to get into my car. .

"Great!" Riley says enthusiastically, immediately making me suspicious.

"Alright, you two are free to go." the woman _finally _lets them go.

Riley, tries to get in the front seat, but I stop her.

"Nope it's Amber's turn."

"No, it's okay Tori." Amber says quickly. Too quickly.

"No, fair's fair, let's go Mamita."

"Come on Tori." Riley whines. "She said she doesn't want to, and _I _want to. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is this is my car and I said I want Amber up front and you in the back, entiendes?"

She blinks at me.

"Do you understand?" I repeat in English.

"I guess." She rolls her eyes and gets in the back. But I still have to practically beg Amber to sit up front with me. Seriously. The kid's starting to wazz me out. Is she mad at me for some reason?

She doesn't say anything at all for a while, and neither does Riley. I hate weird silences, so I turn on the radio. Riley starts singing along immediately. Kid can't carry a tune to save her life, but she loves to sing.

_I know you wanna bite this_

_It's so enticing_

_Nothing else like this_

_Imma make you my bi-_

"Woops!" I turn the radio station.

"Hey!" Riley exclaims. I know how much she loves Rihanna, and that's one of her favorite songs, but there's just no way I'm gonna let her listen to that, or sing it, while there's a camera in my car.

"Here, listen to Willow whip her hair back and forth."

Riley glares at me.

"What? It's fun if you do it." I try, to convince her.

No such luck.

"No." she pouts, folding her arms over her chest.

So I start whipping my hair back and forth.

Amber starts laughing.

"Come on do it with me."

"Nuh-un," they say.

We're nearly at the end of the song before both girls are doing it. It was totally worth it, they both look so adorably silly.

Then my song comes on and I turn it up.

_Same bed, but it feels just a little bit bigger now  
Our song on the radio, but it don't sound the same_

Riley groans.

"I like this song too." Amber says shyly.

"You would." Her sister bites back.

I turn the radio up a little more and start singing, inviting Amber to sing along with me.

She doesn't seem to want to, but I poke her side, making her laugh until she gives in and sings with me.

_Too young too dumb to realize _

_That I should've bought you flowers_

I grab her hand and hold it up real high before singing the next line.

_And held your hand_

_Should have given all my hours_

_When I had the chance_

_Take you to every party_

'_cause all you wanted to do was dance_

"Baila, Mamita." I start to sway a bit. "Dance." I repeat in English.

From there, Bruno is totally forgotten. The girls are asking me how to say every word they know in Spanish. Numbers, animals, colors, body parts…

Jeez, I forgot how into this they are. And I'm so relieved when we finally get to my house. I'm suffering from a little Spanish overload. I practically run to the door shouting, "Start your homework while I get you a snack."

I hear them run upstairs to my room. And I pull out two apples and the peanut butter. I know it's a little weird to put peanut butter on apples, and the girls were a bit iffy about trying it at first too, but now they love it.

Snack made, I carry it upstairs expecting to find two little girls doing their homework on my bed.

Nope. They_ are_ on my bed, but it looks like they're fighting. Riley is behind Amber, calling her a dirty thief, and Amber's squirming around like a maniac.

"What's going on? You two are supposed to be doing homework!" I yell. They both straighten up. Amber keeps her hands behind her back, but I thought I just saw a flash of silver… "Are those my dad's handcuffs?"

"No." Riley answers quickly. I take that to mean yes.

"How many times have I told you, these are not toys!" I yell. "My dad uses them for work."

"Why are you looking at me, it was Amber's idea." Riley argues back.

Amber doesn't say anything to confirm or deny Riley's accusations. She just stands there looking like she's about to wazz her pants. But I don't even have to look at her worried face to know that she was not the brains behind this operation.

"Gimme the keys, Monstrito."

"But I don't"-

"Now." I cut Riley off.

"Fine." She scowls, digging into her pocket and pulling them out.

I unlock Amber and throw the cuffs onto my bed.

"Homework." I point to their book bags.

Riley grumbles a little more. I ignore her. She can be so much like Jade sometimes. And not in a good way.

"Tori, I need help with mine." Amber says quietly. She won't meet my eyes, and I just assume she's a little embarrassed about getting into trouble just now.

"Why didn't you ask _me_ for help?" Riley grins at her in a teasing manner.

Weird.

"Because you just tell me the answers and I need help on _how_ to do it!" Amber yells back.

That's even weirder. But I let it go. At least she doesn't look like she's about to have an accident in my bed anymore.

"What are you working on, Mamita?" I ask, peeking over her shoulder.

"Telling time with a face clock."

"Oh, that's easy"-

Abruptly Trina bursts into my room. No knocking. Not for my sister.

"Oh good, they're here." She says, looking genuinely relieved to see the girls. "I'm taking them."

"Yes!" Riley jumps up and runs out of the room.

"No," I glare at my sister. "They haven't finished their homework."

"I don't care." Trina scoffs. "I need them to help me with some stuff."

"What stuff?"

"None of your business stuff. Riley, let's go." she says to Amber who hasn't moved yet.

"I'm Amber." She says.

"I don't care, let's go." she says before leaving. As if her words are final. The nerve.

Amber looks to me and I can tell she really wants to go. It's a bit disturbing really. Trina's just gonna make them do a lot of slave work, but they seem to have fun in her room.

Maybe Melissa's right. Maybe I _am _boring. I gotta be if the girls prefer Trina's company.

"Riley, come on." Trina walks back in.

"She just told you she's Amber." I roll my eyes.

"I wasn't listening, come on kid. I don't have all day."

Amber looks at me again, silently begging with those huge baby blues.

"Fine. Go." I sigh.

She jumps up with a huge grin on her face, and for a moment it looks as if she's gonna hug me; but then she stops and runs after Trina.

Weird.

"Victoria Vega!" I hear my dad yell…from downstairs. I'm in some serious chiz. I swear if Trina did anything _Trina_-like and blamed it on me again…

I run down the stairs and instantly see the problem. It wasn't Trina this time. It _was _me. . The camera crew is here and my dad looks extremely surprised. Which means Mom forgot to tell him.

Uh oh.

"Hey Dad." I smile uneasily at him.

"Hey Dad? I open my door to_ this_ and all you can say is "hey Dad?""

"I thought Mami told you about them." I answer, using a slight baby voice. I admit it.

"No, Mami didn't tell me about them." He mocks me.

I give him my most pathetic puppy dog look. "Please Papi."

He closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose, a sure sign that I'm about to get what I want regardless of what he thinks is best for me.

"Sons." He finally says. "I needed to have sons. None of these sad faced, please Papi begging, baby girls." He mutters while walking off.

That's a yes.

"My dad said yes." I tell the camera guys. They all scramble in and I give them a small your of the house.

It goes smooth, boring even, until my dad comes out of his room dressed in his uniform.

"Have you seen my handcuffs?" he asks me.

Dang it. I forgot to put them back. I go to my room, scoop them up off of my bed, and hand them to him.

He snatches them away. "How many times do I have to tell you my handcuffs are not toys?"

I roll my eyes. I know they're not toys. I just got through telling the twins the same thing. And I nearly tell him that, but I stop myself. I can't bring myself to tell on them. "I just needed them one time. It won't happen again." I cover for them.

"Oh, you just needed them one time." He mocks me.

"Yes."

"For what?"

"I uh... well, I um…" Hmmm. What the heck could I need handcuffs for?

My dad groans and rolls his eyes. "You want handcuffs? Fine, I'll get you handcuffs. But I wish you would pace yourself m'hija. When I was your age, I was still playing Legos. I wasn't even thinking about sex. In fact, I never think about sex. In fact, I've never had sex in my life!"

I snort. "But you and Mom"-

"Me and your mother have never had sex, Tori. Never. NUNCA, me oyes?

Seriously?

"Then how did me and Trina…"

"The stork dropped you off. The both of you."

I hear a bit of chuckling behind me, and I remember the camera men.

How embarrassing. And I know it can get a whole lot worse so I keep quiet, hoping he gets everything out of his system faster without me adding more fuel, but no. He keeps on.

"He dropped Trina at the wrong address"-

"Dad!"

"But we take care of her, and we love her as if she were our own." He finishes, placing a hand over his heart.

I roll my eyes just as the twins come out of Trina's room.

"Tori we"-

"The stork dropped you two off too, entienden?!" He whirls around and yells at them.

"Yes sir." Riley answers, eyes wide and eyebrows raised high.

Amber doesn't say anything. Just nods her head up and down vigorously.

"What did I say?" He points at Amber.

"T-the stork dr-dropped us off." She stutters.

"That's right, and when you're thirty the stork might drop you off a baby too. But not a day before! Entienden?" he points between the both of them.

"Yes sir." They both say together before running back into Trina's room.

"Papi!"

"What?"

"You scared them."

"Good."

I roll my eyes and go into my room so I can start on my homework. He follows me, but it's not for more yelling. He's gotta go to work, and since he's a police officer, he doesn't like leaving without saying goodbye. You never know what could happen out there.

It's hours before I finish my homework. Not that it was hard work, but I kept getting distracted. Jade's still ignoring me. I tried calling her. I tried texting her. Nothing.

I don't know what to do. I thought I needed a break from her, but now…

"Tori?" Riley comes into my room.

"Yeah, Monstrito?"

"I'm hungry."

I check the time and crap. It's late. I haven't been paying attention to the time at all.

_Way to go Tori, why don't you just starve the girls to death. _

I run to my parents' bedroom and knock on their door. "Mom!"

"Yeah?" she yells back.

"I need money for pizza."

"What do you need pizza for?"

Seriously? To eat, Mom. To eat. But I say, "for the girls" instead.

"Cook something."

And kill them the first time they stay over at my house? No thank you!

"_Mom!"_

She opens her door abruptly, and I thank my lucky stars that I wasn't leaning on it. "Where's _your _money, Tori?"

"I uh, I spent it." I stumble.

It's kinda true.

"On what?"

"Jade." I answer; which is all the way true.

"_Just _Jade?"

"Yes, just Jade."

"Okay, fine." She sighs before giving me the money.

"Thank you."

"I wanna order it." Riley jumps up beside me. I'm not exactly sure how I forgot the girls were right there, but I forgot the girls were right there, so she ended up scaring the chiz out of me.

"Sure, here." I gasp, handing her my phone.

Apparently she does it all the time at home because she doesn't need any of my help until it's time to give my address.

While we're waiting for the pizza, I try to text Jade a few more times, but still no answer. I'm so desperate, I almost call Joy and ask her to talk to Jade for me, but I change my mind. Jade would absolutely kill me tomorrow. She doesn't seem to like Joy for some reason. I have no idea why. I think she's a very nice woman.

"Pizza's here!" the girls squeal excitedly when there's a knock on the door. I laugh at them. I remember when I used to get that excited over pizza.

"Oh good, the pizza's here!" Trina screams and practically wrestle's the boxes out of the girls' hands.

Seriously.

I expect Trina to get her slices and go, but she surprises me. She gets three plates and puts two slices of pizza and each plate. It's only when I sit down next to Amber that I realize she didn't get me a plate.

I scowl at her before getting my own plate and taking my seat next to Amber again.

"What's the _matter _Amber, aren't you hungry?" Riley sing-songs around a mouthful of pizza.

"Gross. How are you gonna get a boyfriend with those table manners?" Trina practically gags.

I roll my eyes. She's one to talk. I don't see her ever getting a boyfriend. Ever.

I look over at Amber to see why her sister's teasing her this time, and I notice she's kinda scooting away from me, like she doesn't want to sit by me.

"I already have a boyfriend." I hear Riley say, but I'm a little too distracted by Amber's…_weirdness_ to process what I've heard.

"Really?" Trina continues. "You're like five "-

"I'm eight."

"What does a five year old need with a boyfriend?"

Boyfriend?

I look up at Riley. She's eight. She can't have a boyfriend yet.

"She means he's a boy and he's her friend, right Riley?" I raise my eyebrows.

"Uh, yeah." she concedes unconvincingly.

Oh God, it's already starting. Wait, what am I worried about? I'm not her mom.

"Nuh- uh, he's her real boyfriend." Amber tells Trina. "I saw her kiss him."

Kissing?! "Riley!"

"Shut up Amber." Riley glares at her sister menacingly. "At least I'm not gay!"

"Stop saying that! I'm not gay!" Amber screams back.

"Yes you are 'cause you like Tori."

And now I realize why Amber's been acting so weird around me. Riley's been teasing her and making her feel uncomfortable.

"Riley, that's enough." I step in.

"But she _told_ me she does."

"Shut _up _Riley!" Amber screams before pushing her sister so hard she falls out of her chair. Then she runs up the stairs.

"Riley! Apologize." I yell, pointing in the direction her sister just ran.

"_Me_? She's the one who pushed me!"

"Yeah? Well you pushed her first."

She blinks up at me.

"With your words." I clarify before deciding to go after Amber myself. Riley would probably make it worse.

She's in my bed, lying face down with her face buried in one of my pillows.

"Amber?" I call.

She tenses up a bit, but she doesn't move other than that.

I sit down beside her and place a hand on her back. "Come on Mamita, mírame."

She ignores me.

"I know you know what that means. We've practiced that one."

She sighs and turns a little so she can look up at me, but she doesn't meet my eyes. Poor kid is mortified. Her beet red face is testament to that.

"She was just teasing, Amber." I say soothingly. "I know you don't like me."

"But I _did _tell her that." She sniffs.

Oh crap! Whaddo I do.

_Get your hand off of her!_

I can't snatch my hand off her back. That'll make her feel worse!

_But if you leave it there…_

"You're really nice to me," Amber continues. "And you try to make Jade be nice to me too; and you're lots of fun, and you take me and Riley places, and Jade never…" she trails off.

Oh, that kind of like. I can deal with that kind of like. So I continue to rub her back gently.

"And I think you're really pretty." She blushes.

Dang it!

"I wish I was pretty like you." She sighs. "I'm just normal. My face is normal, and I'm the shortest in my class, and I don't have ta-tas yet." She pauses there and glances at my chest. "Well, yours aren't as big as Jade's, but at least you still got a mouthful."

A what? Did she just say…No, no, no. I heard wrong. Yeah, that's what happened. I heard wrong. "Um, I have a what, Amber?"

_Please_ say I heard wrong.

"Jade said you have a mouthful and I got ant bites."

Oh. She probably doesn't understand what a mouthful means. Still, what the heck was Jade thinking when she told her that! Didn't it ever occur to her that she would repeat that? In a place that was not so appropriate for her to say it. Like in front of these freakin camera's that are in my room. Jeez. I seriously hope they cut this part out.

"Um, Mamita, maybe you shouldn't repeat that mouthful thing to anyone. Ever."

"Is it bad?" she frowns at me.

I want to tell her yes, but she looks so sad and I can't do it.

"Maybe just a little embarrassing."

"Okay." She agrees, still looking every bit of miserable.

"Amber," I grab ahold of her chin and tilt her face so she'll finally look at me. "I think, no, I _know_ you're a beautiful little girl."

She rolls her eyes disbelievingly at me.

"It's true." I insist. "And you're not supposed to have ta-ta's yet anyway. It's too soon."

"Kayla B. does."

"Yeah? Well by the time you get some, Kayla B's will be old news. No one will care about hers anymore. Okay?"

"Okay." She finally smiles back at me. Just in time for Riley to come and make her feel worse. But instead, Riley actually apologizes. I jump up and give her a huge hug 'cause I'm so proud of her. She fights me off, but I don't care.

"Tori! It's your turn to clean the kitchen." Trina yells from downstairs.

I scowl. It's actually not my turn to do the dishes, but I don't want to make a scene in front of the cameras. I think we've made enough scenes to last a lifetime.

"Come on guys." I sigh.

"I can't," Riley clutches her stomach. "I'm feeling a little sick."

Seriously.

"Okay, Mamita, let's go."

"I feel sick too, Tori." Amber claims.

I narrow my eyes at the "sick" girls. "Fine, finish your homework."

It takes me twice as long to do the kitchen because the girls keep calling me every five seconds for help.

I kinda wish the camera crew would leave. It's getting late and we've been a bit uneventful. Seriously, there's nothing interesting about me making sure the girls get their showers and putting them to bed in the guest room.

Even after I make the announcement that I'm turning in, they still don't leave. They say goodnight and start raiding the fridge.

My parents are so gonna kill me in the morning.

I'm nearly asleep when I hear, "What are you doing?" right by my ear.

I jump up out of my bed.

Riley! Jeez, I didn't even hear her come in 'cause I was too busy…oh god, she saw me rubbing my belly button.

"Get out of here!" I squeal and walk her to the door

"But what were you doing with"-

"Shh!" I shush her while pushing her out. "It was nothing. You didn't see anything. Now, go back to bed."

"Fine." She scowls.

"And don't tell Jade!" I yell after her.

She turns back with a wicked smile on her face. Dang it, she's up to something.

"Why not?"

"You know how your sister is, so don't tell her." I practically beg.

Riley considers it for a moment before holding her hand out. "It's gonna cost ya." She smiles.

"Fine, Whaddo you want?"

"I'll think of something later. Deal?" she briefly glances at her outstretched hand, the one I haven't shaken yet.

"Why can't you ever ask for money like a regular person?" I grumble as I shake her much smaller hand.

"Because"-

Whatever her answer was going to be gets cut off by my ringing phone. I frown a little before glancing into my bedroom. Who the heck is calling me at this time?

"Who"-

"Bed." I cut Riley off, pointing to the guestroom down the hall.

She hesitates for a second before leaving.

"I'm coming, I'm coming" I mutter to my insistently ringing phone. And I don't even check the caller ID. I just answer.

"Hello?"

"Can I come over?"

Come over? I pull my phone back and look at the screen. It's Melissa.

I put the phone back to my ear.

"Lissa?"

"I broke up with Danny. So…"

I smile a little. That's excellent news, and somewhat of a relief for me; but Melissa's probably sad right now. She needs me. "Yeah, come over."

I go downstairs and I put on the cocoa while I wait for her. Being friends with André has sort of put me in the habit of making hot cocoa when a friend of mine is distraught, and I have no doubt Melissa will be a gigantic mess.

I'm aware of the camera crew watching me, yeah, they still haven't gone home yet; but I ignore them. Not even on purpose. I kinda just got used to them I guess.

Then I get the text to open the door.

Show time. I take a breath, preparing myself for the devastated mess that'll be in front of me.

But when I_ do_ open the door, she's not hysterical or sobbing. It kinda throws me off a little.

"You look…nice." I say.

Why isn't she crying? It's so weird.

"And you look busy." She glances down at my thighs…where I don't have shorts on. Dang it, I knew I was forgetting something. "Am I interrupting anything?"

I think she's teasing me, trying to be her old self, but she looks sad. Maybe she's not crying hysterically, but this is still bad. In fact, it's probably worse. Isn't it unhealthy to keep everything bottled up inside?

I shake my head and grab her hand. "No. you're not interrupting anything. Come on," I say before leading her up to my bedroom so we can talk

Once inside my room, I realize I forgot the cocoa, so I run downstairs and pour two cups real quick. Then I check on the girls, mainly Riley.

She's knocked out. I can tell because she's practically being suffocated by Amber and is none the wiser.

I'm still wearing my smile when I go back to my room and confront Melissa. She tries to return my smile but it's just not quite right. "Here, this is for you." I offer her one of the cups.

She takes it immediately and sips slowly.

"This is really good," she says softly.

"André likes it too."

"I'm sure he does." She answers. Again, I think it was supposed to be a witty reply, but her voice is too sad to pull it off.

"You okay?" I ask, sitting down next to her.

"Yeah."

But she's not okay. She starts making this weird sound in her throat, and after a while I realize she's trying to keep from crying.

I take her cocoa from her and set it on the ground before hugging her tight. "Let it out, Lissa. Don't hold back."

But she doesn't let it out. She keeps with that half crying thing. And she squeezes me so tight I nearly suffocate.

When she finally lets go, she gives me an embarrassed smile and stands up. There's no way I can let her go home. It's already late, and she's still a mess. What if she breaks down into hysterics and gets in an accident.

I grab her hand firmly. "Stay." I command.

"Okay." She nods. There's no fight whatsoever in her and it reaffirms my belief that I've made the right decision for her. "But I'm not sleeping with you." She concludes.

I think it's a joke, but I can't really read her right now.

"Where's the guest bedroom?"

Apparently it wasn't a joke.

"It's occupied." I answer.

She frowns at me.

"Jade's sisters." I explain.

"Can they sleep in here with you, and I get the guest bedroom?"

I guess I could do that.

"Sure," I shrug. "Help me get them."

"Okay."

I get Amber 'cause I don't want Melissa to get punched in the face. The little angel doesn't stir, not even once, and I strategically place her on the furthest end of my bed. I'm gonna put Riley in the middle….as soon as Melissa gets in here with her. What's taking her so long anyway?

I double back to the guest room and see that Riley's still in the bed and Melissa's getting in beside her. "Can you take her?" she asks me.

I nearly scowl at her but keep my facials in check.

"I thought you were bringing her." I say as nicely as possible.

"I tried. She's heavy."

Seriously? I pick Riley up easily. She stirs a bit, but I shush her and rub her back to keep her asleep.

"You're pretty good at that." Melissa observes.

"Thanks."

"Told ya you're like a mom." She teases…in a monotone. It's totally off-putting.

"Good night. Lissa." I say, rather than argue with her.

"Good night." She calls back.

It's then that I notice she hasn't called me Icky. Not once. She must be really depressed.

I collapse next to Riley and it seems like no more than two seconds later I'm being shaken awake.

"Come on Tori, your alarm is going off." One of the girls tells me. I think it was Amber. I grumble a bit before getting up; then get the girls dressed and fed with only one eye open. Today would be the perfect day for me to start drinking coffee.

At the thought of coffee, I think of Jade. I miss her. But she won't talk to me. And it's really starting to wazz me off.

I stump my way up to my bedroom to get dressed. Lissa's already here going through my closet, and picking out something to wear. Usually I don't like that kind of stuff, but she has nothing to wear and she's still sad over the break up. I can't yell at her.

"Where are your swimsuits?" She yawns.

"Why?"

"It's hot out. If André sets up the kiddie pool, I'm getting in today.' She explains.

"That drawer," I point. When she picks one out and goes to the bathroom to change, I put one on as well. If it's anything like yesterday out today, then I'm getting in the kiddie pool too.

For such a rough start, my morning goes smoothly. I get the girls to school on time. And I get me to school on time.

I text Jade good morning but she ignores me.

I ask get if she's coming to school today.

She still ignores me. And I decide not to let it bother me. It's Friday, and I'm going to focus on being able to catch up on some snooze time this weekend.

The warning bell already rang, so the halls are nearly empty. I'm kinda not in a rush because of my perfect attendance being ruined; plus I'm in the mood for a wahoo punch.

When I get to the drink machine, Cat's already there.

"Hey Cat!" I call cheerfully

"Hey." she answers in a very depressing voice. Not normal for her at all.

"Aw, what's wrong, Kitten?"

Kitten? Jeez, Melissa's right. I _am_ like a mom.

Dang it.

"I don't know which soda to get." Cat finally answers.

Really? That's what she's so sad about? Well I guess if little things can make her happy, little things can make her sad as well.

"I think I know of a way to cheer you up." I smile.

"Really?" Her eyes get all wide and hopeful. She's so adorable.

"Sure just get all"- Then I hear it, this weird, high pitched, gurble gable. I recognize that sound. The flour bomber!

Thank god the janitor's closet is right here. So I yank cat's arm and shove her in.

"Oh, god Tori!" She exclaims when she hits her head on the wall.

Oops. I didn't mean to do that, but at the same time… "Shh." I quiet her by clamping my hand over her mouth.

Her eyes widen and she begins to squirm.

"Shh." I repeat..

She nods her head, like she gets it, but as soon as I take my hand off her mouth she starts talking!

"_Cat_." I groan.

"But Tori, there's a spider on your shoulder, a big one."

I wazz out, crashing into the wall and the ladder and the equipment trolly, before finally running out of the closet….where the stupid flour bomber gets me.

The dang wazzball was waiting for me. And it's all on camera.

I slink back into the closet.

Cat points at my face. "Tori, you got a little."-

"I know! Now help me get it off," I yell.

She squeaks and covers her mouth with her hand, terrified. You don't yell at Cat. It's just wrong.

I take a breath and calm down.

'Shh Cat, it's okay." I baby her until she's feeling like her normal perky self again.

Then she helps me get my clothes straight. And almost all of the flour off of me. I say almost all of it because there's still some in my pants. Don't ask how it got down there.

When me and Cat finally come out of the closet, I run right into Melissa.

She quirks an eyebrow at me. "You're so lucky it was me who found you and not Jade." She says.

I frown at her. That's definitely something she would say, but her delivery's a little off. She sounds too sad. I know it's because she's still upset over the break up. Even though she's the one who broke it off, it's still got to be hard.

"What are you talking about?" I play along.

"Are you kidding me, she sees you standing next to me and she pitches a major wazzfit. What do you think she'd do if she saw you coming out of the closet with Cat just then?"

I shrug my shoulders. "It was Cat. Only pedos and Robbies are attracted to her."

She nods her head. "That's so true."

"So, you coming by my place this weekend?"

"Nah.'

"I think you should. I can make you some more hot cocoa." I bribe.

"I feel fine."

"No you don't."

"Okay, no I don't, but you're still boring."

"Hey!"

"Still love ya," she smirks at me, or tries to, but it looks more like a grimace. Then she heads for the bathroom, not second period.

I debate on whether or not to follow after her; then I decide why not? My perfect attendance is already messed up.

Melissa's nothing like me. I would've gone into one of the stalls, but she's just standing in front of the mirror, staring at herself. She doesn't even acknowledge my presence. Not until I speak.

"You want me to sit in your lap?"

She laughs then; a very wet, watery, teary, gross laugh, before wrapping her arms around my neck. I hold onto her tightly and let her cry on my shoulder. She didn't get it out last night, so I'm glad I could be here for her today.

I wait patiently while her cries turn into little sobs, then little hitches and then nothing at all.

She brings her head up and announces that she's all done before washing her face.

I hear the bell ring and know we've missed 2nd period. Odd. It really doesn't seem like we've been in here that long.

"Ready?" she asks me.

"If you are."

"I'm good."

I raise my eyebrows at her. She said that the last time.

"Really." She laughs. "I feel much better."

I still look at her. She rolls her eyes and grabs my hand before dragging me out the bathroom.

"Let's go, Icky."

Icky. Yup. She's feeling better alright.

Then she abruptly lets go of my hand.

"Hey Jade." She says before practically running off.

Jade? I smile at my girlfriend, extremely glad to see her standing here in front of me and totally forgetting about the fact that she's been ignoring me.

"Hey mami," I say before nipping her lip.

"Is she wearing you're clothes?"

I roll my eyes. _That's_ her response. She can't even say hello? I've been missing her like crazy and she can't even say hello to me?

"Why is she wearing your clothes?" she asks more insistently.

I nearly don't answer, but then I remember the cameras. I don't want to be the insensitive girlfriend.

"She spent the night last night and she didn't have anything to wear this morning." I reply patiently.

"She what!? And I'm supposed to be okay with that?" Her eyes are wide, her nostrils are flared; she's wazzed off.

Well if she had been answering my texts and calls last night, I would have told her. But I don't say anything like that.

"She's just a friend." I shrug simply before nipping her once again and heading for third period. Which as pretty boring, by the way. The teacher doesn't seem to be himself, now that there are camera's filming his lesson.

And to be honest, fourth period was almost no better. Even Sikowitz was a little more tamed. He even had on shoes!

As soon as the lunch bell rings, Sikowitz tells Jade to come see him and André announces that he's setting up the kiddie pool again.

_Finally_, something to look forward to. Well at least I thought so until Melissa handed André a twenty and asked for twenty minutes.

Twenty minutes! That's a long time to wait to get into a kiddie pool.

When's it my turn?" I whine to André after what seems like an hour later.

He checks his watch. "Now."

"_Right _now?"

"Yup. You got four minutes and 48 seconds left."

He doesn't have to tell me twice. I hurry and strip down to my suit, not wanting to waste a second, before walking over to Melissa. "My turn." I tell her.

She looks me up and down. "What_ is_ that?"

I roll my eyes. "Shut up."

"No. Tell me where you got it so I can burn that whole store down."

"It's not that bad." I get in beside her instead of pushing her out like I really want to. I think I'll give her a week before I start treating her like normal again.

I lean my head back and sigh. The relief I'm getting from the cool water trumps any embarrassment I could feel for sitting in a kiddie pool at school. Now all I need are my sun glasses because even with my eyes closed that sun is a force to be reckoned with.

Then suddenly the sun is blocked.

I smile and open my eyes to thank the merciful angel who's providing me with-

"Put some clothes on."

Dang it. Jade.

I can hear Melissa snickering beside me and I don't know, I don't want to appear to be a total pushover so I stay put.

"This is the most conservative suit I have, Mami."

And it is. I'm practically in shorts and a glorified sports bra.

"It's not conservative enough." She glares down at me.

I bite my lip. If I scoot up just a bit more, I can totally take a peek under her skirt.

Perv.

I shake my head, trying to clear away my dirty thoughts, but Jade misunderstands me.

"Don't tell me no, get your ass out of this pool, now." She hisses.

"But I still have three more minutes." I whine.

Melissa snorts and I pinch her underneath the water. So much for being nice to her.

"Out!" Jade commands.

"Can't I just"-

"No."

"What if I just"-

"No."

I keep arguing with her until André comes over and says, "Times up ladies."

I smile satisfactorily before getting out if the pool.I got to stay in the kiddie pool for my full time. I won.

Jade realizes it and she looks like she's gonna kill me. So I step up to her and whisper in her ear. "You can't kill me in front if the camera." I smile happily.

_Finally_ some good came out of being filmed 24/7.

{~~~O~~~}

Even though I had to deal with those intrusive camera guys for a week, I can't deny that I'm a little excited. We got an advanced copy of the first episode if "The Wood." And now we, that's me, André, Jade, and Melissa, are about to watch it at my place.

"Hurry up with that popcorn, Vega!"

I scowl at the back of Jade's head. She's been extra cranky with me for about a week, but I deal with it because I'm usually too busy drooling over her to get too upset. Seriously, ever since we've been filming, she's been making sure she looks like walking sex.

Well, she's toned it down a little today, there's no cleavage or heels, but there's a skirt…with no tights underneath. Just bare sexy legs, and bare sexy thighs-

Focus Tori!

I finish up with the snacks and put the DVD in. When I sit next to Jade, she crosses her legs, raising her skirt up a little higher and revealing more thighs.

I bite my lip and literally sit on my hand so I won't be tempted to touch. I force myself to look at the TV screen, where the ridiculous sounding narrator paints me and Jade as the "it" couple at Hollywood Arts, which we're not. Then there's a clip of us arguing as he insinuates that there's trouble in paradise, which there isn't.

Suddenly, it cuts to the scene where me and Melissa are in the kiddie pool together. I have my eyes closed but there are several shots of boys practically drooling as they stare at us.

Okay…

Then Jade walks up and tells me to get out of the pool, which I absolutely refuse to do. When I finally _do_ get out of the pool, on my time, it shows me whisper in Jade's ear; but there's also a clip of me looking beyond her. Then the camera cuts to Cat, who's walking away from the group, before it cuts back to me smiling quite triumphantly.

That's weird….

The next shot is of me with my clothes back on, and an alone Cat at the wahoo machine.

I'm starting to get a little confused. Cat at the wahoo machine happened _before _me and Melissa in the kiddie pool. Why are they showing these scenes out of order?

I watch myself go up to Cat, ask her what's wrong and call her Kitten. Then I tell her I can make her feel better before shoving her in the janitor's closet without any kind of warning. There are a lot of random noises; bangs and moans and squeaks and shushing….

I sit up straighter, my eyes widening as it hits me. I can't believe this! The producers are making it look like I splunked Cat in the janitor's closet!

After a little while, Cat comes out skipping and smiling; and I come out adjusting my pants. Melissa's right there, with a sad look on her face. She mentions Jade and I shrug carelessly. Then she walks away. I tilt my head to the side and watch her go, before following her into the bathroom. And again, it looks and sounds as if me and Melissa…you know.

We come out of the bathroom and seemingly get caught by Jade. Melissa hurries off, and I just smile and nip Jade's lip before moving on. Then there's a close up of Jade. She's staring after me and she looks…sad.

They show some random clips of André and Beck and I don't have the time to feel any sort of relief whatsoever because they come back to me.

I'm in my car and my face lights up as I look at my phone. Then I put it to my ear and say, "Hey Mami." Next, there's a clip of Melissa in her car as well. "Hey babe," she says. "You want me to come to your place?" Then it cuts back to me. "You know me so well." I say. "Why should I?" Melissa scoffs. I grin. "Because you love me." I answer confidently. "Okay." She sighs in defeat. And then I hang up my phone.

The next clip is fairly okay. It just shows me picking up the girls and bringing them to my place. I'm not surprised when I see my dad asking for his handcuffs, and then me giving them to him and him telling me they're not toys and to pace myself. I _am_ surprised they didn't keep all that stuff he said about the stork. Instead, that whole speech is skipped and they just show the part where I roll my eyes and go in my room.

They go back to more random stuff. Like Cat and Sinjin and there's even a bit of Rex.

When they come back to me, it's dark and I'm opening the door for Melissa. She makes a comment about my lack of bottoms and I smile, almost seductively at her before pulling her by the hand up to my bedroom. Then there's a clip of Riley coming out of the guest room and walking into my bedroom. She asks me what I'm doing, and I bribe her to keep quiet, even tell her not to tell Jade.

I just can't take it anymore. I run up to my bedroom and shut the door behind myself.

A few minutes later there's a knock on my door. I ignore it. I know it's Jade. And I know she has to pretend to be mad at me for "cheating" on her, but I'm just not in the mood right now. I feel like complete and utter kaka.

"Vega." I hear her say.

I still ignore her, keeping my arms crossed over my face.

I hear my door shut, and for a second I imagine she respected my wishes enough to leave the room and let me be. But I know better. Jade wouldn't do such a thing.

I hear her come closer.

I frown and sigh. I really just want her to go away. Why can't she just let me have this one? Just this _one_.

"Vega." She says again. And still I ignore her.

I hear her come a little closer and I can feel myself start to get a little angry with her. Does she have to be so pushy all the time? Can't she just give me a little break here and there? Can't she see that I'm not in the mood to deal with this stupid dating thing I've stupidly gotten myself into?

I feel my bed dip and I know she's going to straddle me before she even does it. She does it every time I ignore her. She really hates being ignored. So what do I do? I _still _ignore her.

She growls out of frustration and starts tugging on my arms. She tugs for a while but I fight hard to keep them in place. And I win…kinda. She _does_ stop tugging after a while.

I tense up, subconsciously bracing myself for whatever she's going to do next, but then she kisses my arm and I recoil a bit.

I was not expecting that.

She kisses me again and again. My wrists, my fingers, until I finally give in. I remove my arms from my face.

"What?" I glare, or try to anyway cause all it takes is for Jade to cup my face and say, "Baby, what's wrong," and I lose my resolve. I missed _this _Jade so much.

"I looked like a slut." I sniff.

"So what?" she says softly. Leaning in to kiss my lips. "It's just a TV show. Everyone knows you're not a slut."

I shake my head. Everyone doesn't know that. Everyone at Sherwood High thinks I am.

"Anyone who matters anyway." She continues. "I'm the one who should be bawling like a newborn. Did you see what they did to my character?"

I just stare at her, waiting for her to explain. There's no way she should be upset. I think she looked rather beautiful the whole time.

"I was practically a whining doormat. And an insecure and jealous girlfriend."

I smile a little. She _is_ a bit of an insecure girlfriend. She used to get mad at Beck for everything. A girl dialed him wrong number, Jade got mad. A girl said hello to him in the halls, Jade got mad. A female teacher gave him extra credit, Jade got mad. It was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.

"See?" She smiles back. "Nothing to get upset over. You're not a slut. And I'm not some whining little bitch who lets her girlfriend cheat on her. I mean, come on. Everyone knows you're too scared of me to try something like that anyway."

Even though I wouldn't cheat on Jade, the way she went about it telling me so, rings absolutely false. I'm not afraid of her.

"That's not true," I speak up.

"Oh?'

"Yeah, I'm not afraid of you.

"Oh?" she repeats, raising an eyebrow at me and crossing her arms over her chest.

I grab her by the waist and lift myself up a bit.

"Nope," I say, biting her chin playfully. Only, I think I may have bitten her a little too hard because she bites me back….which she never does because she knows that I don't like to be bitten.

"Don't bite me." I snap.

"Don't tell me what to do!" She snaps back. Then she bites me again!

"Jade…" I warn. What's with this girl? I mean, I understand, I bit her first and you shouldn't do things to people that you wouldn't want someone to do to you, but she's the freak who likes it, not me!

She dips her head, about to bite me again, and it's just…enough. I've had enough.

I roll over on top of her, taking her completely by surprise and I don't let up.

"Stop it." I command.

"Or what?"

I hesitate for a second. What _will _I do if she doesn't stop?

Nothing. She wins.

I get up and hop out of bed. She follows after me.

"Where are you going?" she questions.

"Out."

I open the door and she shuts it. "Don't walk away from me, Vega."

I roll my eyes. She's my girlfriend. Not my mother. I can walk away from her if I want. I open the door back up, and she shuts it again.

"Stop." I hiss. Opening the door back.

"Don't tell me what to do!" she tries to shut the door again, but I yank her hand away.

She shoves me, and I shove back, not as hard as she shoved me, but I'm still able to surprise her.

Then she pushes me into the wall really hard. I grunt squeeze my eyes shut tight as I sink down to the floor and hold the back of my head.

"Vega?"

I don't answer her. Just continue to hold the back of my head.

"Baby?" I feel her stoop in front of me and grab my face with both hands.

I open my eyes abruptly. "Gotcha." I smirk before tackling her down.

"Good one." she rolls her eyes, now get off of me.

"So, I won?" I grin.

She narrows her eyes at me. She's not gonna say it.

I kiss her happily

And she bites me.

We're back to that.

"Jade!"

"What?" she pushes at me, but I don't budge.

I grab her hands and pin them above her head. "_Don't _do that."

She raises her eyebrows at me. "Just because I let you on top of me doesn't mean you can talk to me like that, and it doesn't mean I'll let you pin my wrists down as well."

I frown at her, raising an eyebrow of my own.

"_Let_ me on top of you." I dip my head a little and look her straight in the eyes. "Mami, I _took_ that."

She blinks up at me. Totally caught off guard.

I grin back at her, waiting for her to get over her shock and try to kill me. And while she's working her way out of her stupor, I brace myself, getting ready for a fight.

Suddenly, her eyes harden.

I grin even wider.

Here we go.

"Get off of me!" she growls.

"Don't tell me what to do." I tease, throwing her favorite phrase back at her.

She starts worming around, wiggling and bucking up against me. No doubt so she can dislodge and kill me. But I've got a bit of an advantage on her. One, I saw this coming like five minutes ago, and two, I may have cheated a little bit. I may have been picking a few fights with Trina and getting her to inadvertently teach me how to wrestle ever since the first couple of times Jade wrestled me down to the ground and nearly killed me. I figured I needed to learn to defend myself, and it's totally paying off. I'm so winning right now.

We roll around for a good little while, before I actually start getting a little tired and I accidently let one of her legs free. God, she's got a lot of stamina.

Then she wraps it around me and I know if I don't get a hold of this soon, she's gonna trap me and- crap, seconds leg's free.

She starts squeezing the life out of me with her thighs. I let out a loud gasp, but other than that, I try to concentrate on getting outta there. I press down on her hip with one hand, and wiggle and squirm my way out, partially at least. I wrap m free leg around hers tightly, pinning her down on one side.

I grin back at her. One down.

Her eyes widen and so does my grin. Bet she thought she had me.

Next thing I know, she leans up a bit and bites my cheek.

Dang it. How many times do I have to tell this girl…

Before I can even think about what I'm doing, and trust me, I should've thought about what I was doing, I pull my hand back and spank her twice on the back of her bare thigh.

She gasps and closes her eyes tightly. "I'm gonna kill you," she threatens. Which I figured as soon as my hand left her skin.

There's really only one of two things I can do at this point. I can either shake in my boots or play it off.

I decide to play it off.

"I won." I grin before kissing her lips soundly.

"Whatever."

"Oh. My God!"

I whirl around. Crap! I forgot to shut my door back and Melissa's standing in the doorway.

"That was the hottest thing I've ever seen." She gapes at me. I scramble off of Jade and meet her at the doorway.

"I had no idea you were the top. I could've sworn, I would've bet my life that…in fact, I remember you _saying_ you're the bottom. Remember that? Double date with me, you, Jade and Danny. You _said _you were the bottom."

"What the heck are you talking about?" I scowl at her.

"Oh my God, how'd you…you're both still fully clothed and you totally…"

"Totally what, Lissa?"

"she totally came!"

"No she didn't!" I protest, my face going scarlet.

"Oh yeah? Then what's that all over the front of your pants?"

"What?" I look down and there it is. A big wet spot on the front of my jeans. "It's uh, sweat." I answer.

"Sure it is."

I look up at her.

She winks at me and walks away.

"Keep your mouth shut!" I yell after her.

She just laughs. I'd chase after her, but my jeans. The front of them is still wet. I most definitely need to change them before I go downstairs and face people. But my clothes are in my room, and Jade's still in there. How am I supposed to face her? I practically accidently raped her! She kept telling me to get off, and fighting me, and biting me and I wouldn't listen to her.

I raise my hand to knock on my door, but then it occurs to me that this is_ my_ room. So I take a deep breath and walk in.

"Vega!"

I flinch a little.

"Tell me why you still have this."

I squint at what she's holding in her hand and frown. It looks like a lock of hair.

Then I realize it _is _hair; her hair. The lock I cut when I had to pretend to be Jade because of the project Sikowitz gave us on my first day of school.

Great, now I'm a rapist _and_ a creepy stalker person.

"What were you doing going through my drawers?" I ask, snatching at the hair in her hand, but she draws her hand back. And braces the other against my stomach.

I mean to back up, give her some space but she stops me by grabbing a fistful of my shirt and pulling me a little closer.

"What would you do about me going through your drawers? Spank me?"

I blink at her, my face slowly going red. I think…she's _flirting _with me. And she's smirking at me in way that I think…well, I'm getting this feeling that she maybe, kinda,_ liked_ it when I um…when I did that.

God she's such a freak.

I reach for the hair again, a bit hesitant this time and she pulls back even more while simultaneously poking her chest out…and I get distracted. I like stare, at her boobs, until she clears her throat.

_You're so gay, Tori._

I'm not gay!

_Yes you are._

Ugh, yes I am.

And since I've established that I am indeed gay, I take another peek at my girlfriend's chest before locking my eyes with hers.

"See something you like, Vega?" She smirks.

"Or somethings." I rebuttal, 'cause I can flirt back no problem. Then I reach for the hair again. "And stay out of my drawers." I command.

"Or?" She bites her lip.

God she's so sexy. Wait, answer. I'm supposed to answer her.

"Don't make me bend you over." I retort.

She scoffs. "What makes you think I'd let you bend me over?"

"What makes you think I'd ask?" I counter, snatching the hair out of her hand and putting it back. "Stay out of my drawers."

She tries her best to scowl at me, but I think she's amused. There's a small twitch at the corner of her mouth. I kiss her and start taking off my jeans.

"What are you doing?"

"You sweated on me." I wink before changing.

Thank God I'm finished when my dad bursts into my room.

"Tori!"

"Dad! Knock!" I yell.

He grins, totally unaffected by me yelling at him. "I got you a present." He sings.

"Now?" I frown. "It's not my birthday."

"I'm a man of my word."

"You're word? When did you promise to get me a ….oh no." Then he pulls them out. A pair of shiny new handcuffs.

"Nice right?" He winks before tossing them to me. I catch them and note that they're the good kind. Not the plastic ones he used to get me when I was little. The kind that came with a key but you didn't _really_ need a key.

No these are stainless steel. Jade would definitely need a key to get out of these; and I instantly get an image of her squirming around, naked, on my bed, unable to- gah

I shove them deep into the back of a random drawer before claiming to be hungry and heading for a very public place where I can _not_ be alone with my girlfriend right now because I'll end up raping her for real.

{~~~O~~~}

**Author's note: **So, I'm having a little trouble figuring where to start the next chapter. I mean, I know what it's going to be about, but as you know it's going to be a Jade chapter, and I got to thinking that you guys might want to read about the wrestling part of _this_ chapter from her point of view. You know, since she kinda "sweated" on Tori, _again. _Then I got to thinking you guys would probably want to read what she was feeling or thinking while watching The Wood; but then I figured I was going too far and no one would want to read the same thing twice even if it is from a different point of view and that I should just start the chapter from the next day.

Then I came up with an even brighter idea. Why not just ask you guys what you want? Do you want chapter 16 to start from when they're watching the wood, or when Jade goes in Tori's room to comfort her and the end up "wrestling", or to just pick up from the next day? It's up to you guys so lemme know.

Also, a lot of you guys wanted Tori to be the dominant one, so I tried to put that in and still keep her, Tori at the same time. I was a little iffy about the spanking, but then I remembered that canon Tori _is_ a spanker. She did it to Cat in season 4s "Cellblock"


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